}
Speech by Mr P. Jacobs, Secretary for Economic Services, in the Legislative Council
O D 23 January 1985
Insurance Companies (Amendment) Bill 1985
Sir,
1 move that the Insurance Companies (Amendment)
Bill 1985 be read the second time.
2.
The purpose of the proposed amendment is to relax
the present law, which invalidates any policy of insurance
in which the name or names of the insured and any
beneficiaries are not
inserted.
3.
Hong Kong's law in this respect derives from a
section in the Life Assurance Act 1774, otherwise known
>
the Gambling Act 1774. The Act, which applies to Hong
>
At
as
Kong by virtue of the Application of English Law
Ordinance, was directed primarily at preventing what its
recital describes as "a mischievous kind of gaming".
that time a person could effect insurance on a human life
or lives in which he had no genuine interest. In order to
deal with this problem, the Act provided that the names of
all the insured persons and the beneficiaries should be
clearly stated in the policy, so as to demonstrate a
recognised pecuniary interest in the life insured on
on the
/part of the