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Motor vehicles insurance and employees compensation bills
Following is the speech by the acting Secretary for Financial Services, Mrs Lessie Wei, on the resumption of second reading of the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) (Amendment) Bill 1995 and the Employees' Compensation (Amendment) Bill 1995 in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Mr President,
I would like to thank the Bills Committee under the chairmanship of the Hon Peter Wong for its careful consideration of the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) (Amendment) Bill 1995 and the Employees' Compensation (Amendment) Bill 1995. I would also like to express my appreciation to the professional and trade organisations for their valuable comments. Amendments to the Employees' Compensation (Amendment) Bill 1995 to be moved at the Committee Stage are the product of continuing discussion between the Administration and the insurance industry and the professionals over the past few months.
In respect of third party insurance cover for motor vehicles, the Bills Committee, while considering the proposed limit of $100 million for any one event generally adequate, is concerned that there may be occasions with liabilities exceeding $100 million and the motorist's assets falling short of the excess liabilities. To address this concern the Motor Insurers' Bureau has agreed to extend its responsibility to settle any amount which exceeds the prescribed limit of $100 million and which the insured is unable to pay. An Undertaking between the Bureau and the Government to this effect has been arranged for signature at the end of this month.
Turning to employees' compensation, I wish to stress that it is the Administration's policy intention to give maximum protection to employees and to provide sufficient insurance cover to employers. In proposing a statutory minimum of $100 million per event, the Administration has taken into consideration the fact that the largest pay out for employees' compensation in any one event so far has been $30 million. However, to address the deep concern expressed by the Bills Committee that the proposed amount may prove inadequate to cover accidents involving a large number of victims, the Administration has, after consultation with the insurance industry, agreed to amend the Bill to require employers employing over 200 employees to obtain a minimum cover of $200 million per event. For employers employing not more than 200 workers, the minimum amount will be $100 million as originally proposed.
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