Insurance Companies
90. Local and foreign insurance companies which wish to transact life, fire or marine insurance business in Hong Kong must comply with the provisions of the Life Insurance Companies Ordinance and Fire and Marine Insurance Companies Deposit Ordinance respectively. In addition to the filing of annual accounts, these Ordinances require deposits to be made with the Registrar of Companies unless the company qualifies for exemption by complying with the Insurance Companies Acts 1958- 1967 in Great Britain, or-in the case of fire and marine insurance-by maintaining similar deposits elsewhere in the Commonwealth. The approval of the Governor in Council must be obtained for transacting motor vehicle third party risks insurance business. Part II of Table XI lists the Ordinances and subsidiary legislation relating to insurance companies.
91. Hong Kong is a great insurance centre, in which companies from all over the world compete with the local companies, old and new, for the large amount of business available. Since the only companies regulated by statute are those conducting life, fire, marine, and motor vehicle third party risks business, records are at present kept only of the com- panies conducting those classes of business. However, as there can be few companies which conduct only other classes of business, the records kept must include practically all companies. As at 31st March 1971 there were 214 insurance companies conducting the regulated classes of business. Table XVIII gives an analysis of these according to country of incorpora- tion and class of business transacted. As will be seen from this 65 com- panies were domiciled in the United Kingdom, 58 in Hong Kong, and 32 in the United States. 64 companies transact life business, 138 fire, 133 marine, and 90 motor vehicle third party risks business. The 214 com- panies include 13 which commenced doing these classes of business during the year. Most of the foreign companies operate through agents, but some have established their own branch offices in the Colony.
Deposits by Fire, Marine and Life Insurance Companies
92. The deposits made by 65 insurance companies with the Registrar of Companies under the Fire and Marine Insurance Companies Deposit Ordinance were valued as at 31st March 1971 at $9,108,601 and those made by 55 companies under the Life Insurance Companies Ordinance at $6,338,809.
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