The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers has been working closely with the Home Affairs Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government to develop effective measures to ensure the smooth implementation of the Building Management (Third Party Risks Insurance) Regulation due to be effective on 1 January 2011. So far, the HKFI has organized over 60 seminars to brief Owners' Corporations (OCs) and different district bodies and organizations on how to comply with the Regulation and take out the required insurance accordingly.

Mr Harry Wong, Chairman of General Insurance Council, said "the HKFI has established a task force to handle the matter and has issued a circular to our Member Companies advising them on proper operating principles when issuing new policies or renewing policies.  They should provide options to their customers to comply with the legislative requirements without charging additional premium as long as there is no increase in risk exposure. Other administrative charges should be levied on a cost-recovery basis."

Mr Wong stressed that, "When taking out policies, an OC should request insurance companies to stipulate clearly the relevant arrangements and details in the policy, and issue a Notice of Insurance to prove the OC has taken out the required third party risks insurance to cover the legal liability arising from bodily injury to, or death of, a third party."

To assist the OCs in promptly resolving problems when taking out the insurance, the HKFI has set up a telephone hotline (2861 9329) to answer public queries.

In addition, in order to further clarify questions from the OC and the public, a set of FAQs explaining the coverage, claims, policyholders and premium charges etc has been uploaded to the HKFI webpage to ensure the public clearly understand the relevant details.  For details, please visit http://www.hkfi.org.hk/pdf/ThirdPartyQA.pdf.