The Hong Kong Confederation of Insurance Brokers ("CIB") was formed in February 1993 by the amalgamation of the Hong Kong Insurance Brokers Association ("HKIBA") founded in 1979 and the Hong Kong Society of Insurance Brokers ("SIB") founded in 1985. The HKIBA first established voluntary professional regulation of its members from 1979 and participated in the Law Reform Commission consultations in the early 1980's on regulation of insurance intermediaries.

 

In 1986, in its Report on Laws on Insurance, the Law Reform Commission recommended self-regulation for insurance intermediaries. This proposal was endorsed by the Hong Kong Government, and the Insurance Companies Ordinance (“ICO”) was subsequently amended in 1994 to provide legislative support to the self-regulatory system of insurance intermediaries. The amendments came into effect on 30 June 1995. With effect from that date, CIB was approved to be a body of insurance brokers under section 70 of the ICO to implement self-regulation of insurance brokers in Hong Kong.

 

The fundamental role of CIB as a self-regulatory organization (“SRO”) ended in September 2019. On 23 September 2019, the Insurance Authority (“IA”) took over the self-regulatory functions from the three former SROs and became the sole regulator to regulate all insurance intermediaries in Hong Kong.