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Premium Levy by the Insurance Authority
With effect from 1 January 2018, the Insurance Authority (“IA”) will start collecting a prescribed levy on insurance premiums (“levy”) from policyholders through insurance companies pursuant to the Insurance (Levy) Regulation and the Insurance (Levy) Order under the Insurance Ordinance (Cap. 41) (“law”).
- For the life insurance plan underwritten by China Life Insurance (Overseas) Company Limited (“China Life (Overseas)”) and FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited (“FWD”), levy will be collected by China Life (Overseas) and FWD on behalf of the IA. Please visit www.chinalife.com.hk/levy and https://www.fwd.com.hk/en/insurance-levy/ for further information in relation to the levy collection arrangement.
- For the general insurance plan underwritten by AXA General Insurance Hong Kong Limited (“AXA”) and China Taiping Insurance (HK) Company Limited (“China Taiping”), levy will be collected by AXA and China Taiping on behalf of the IA. Please visit https://www.axa.com.hk/en/ia-levy and http://www.hk.cntaiping.com/eng/NEWS20171121.html for further information in relation to the levy collection arrangement.
Except for certain policies (including Reinsurance business, policies underwritten by authorized captive insurers, and marine, aviation and goods-in-transit business) exempt from the levy by law, policyholders of all new or in-force life insurance policies and general insurance policies must pay the levy along with their premium payment. As stated in the law, if a policyholder does not pay the levy as required, the IA may impose a pecuniary penalty on the policyholder, and may recover the outstanding levy as a civil debt.
The amount of the levy imposed on each policy is calculated by a percentage of insurance premiums and is subject to a cap per policy year. The levy rate and cap of each policy will increase gradually until it reaches 0.1% as set by the IA with details as follows:
| Policy Date / Policy Anniversary Date begins in the following period | Levy Rate | Yearly Levy Cap (HK$) | ||
| Life Insurance Policies | General Insurance Policies | |||
| Phase 1 | 1 January 2018 – 31 March 2019 (both dates inclusive) |
0.040% | 40 | 2,000 |
| Phase 2 | 1 April 2019 – 31 March 2020 (both dates inclusive) |
0.060% | 60 | 3,000 |
| Phase 3 | 1 April 2020 – 31 March 2021 (both dates inclusive) |
0.085% | 85 | 4,250 |
| Phase 4 | 1 April 2021 onwards (date inclusive) |
0.100% | 100 | 5,000 |
For further details in relation to the levy matter, please visit the webpage of IA www.ia.org.hk/en/levy or refer to the frequently asked questions https://www.ia.org.hk/en/infocenter/faqs/faqs_levy.html
Note: ICBC (Asia) Limited is an appointed insurance agent of China Life Insurance (Overseas) Company Limited, FWD Life Insurance Company (Bermuda) Limited, AXA General Insurance Hong Kong Limited and China Taiping Insurance (HK) Company Limited.