ICCSC publishes new paper outlining ethical guidelines for general insurance intermediaries

SIngapore’s Insurance Culture and Conduct Steering Committee (ICCSC) has released its fourth paper, titled “Promoting Ethical Culture and Conduct in Insurance Intermediaries (General), providing guidelines aimed at general insurance intermediaries, with a focus on safeguarding customer interests.

The paper emphasises the necessity for general insurance (GI) intermediaries to uphold and enhance standards of integrity and professionalism, thereby fostering trust and confidence in the sector.

The document highlights several key areas for best practices in the industry:

• Cooperation to address the issue of “rolling bad apples” in the industry – It suggests measures to prevent individuals with past misconduct from re-entering the industry. These measures include thorough background checks during hiring processes and establishing accountability for staff who handle reference checks.
   
• Prohibition of referral or introducer fees and the use of sub-agents for selling general insurance policies – It advocates for insurers and intermediaries to avoid improper licensing or registration of online partners acting as intermediaries, and discourages remuneration practices that could lead to biased or inappropriate recommendations of general insurance products.
   
• Remuneration practices and agency performance management frameworks should encourage a balanced approach – The guidelines suggest incorporating incentives that extend beyond financial performance, including mandatory annual training in ethics, conduct, and compliance. They also call for a clear process to address and monitor inappropriate behaviour by agents.

This latest paper follows three previous publications by the ICCSC in 2022, which focused on human resources, corporate governance, and life insurance intermediaries. The release of these guidelines also follows the results of the Inaugural Insurance Trust Indicator Study by ICCSC, which indicated high levels of trust in the Singapore insurance industry.

Dr Khoo Kah Siang, chairperson of the Insurance Culture and Conduct Steering Committee, highlighted the positive impact of the ICCSC's work.

“Following the publication of our best practice papers and Insurance Trust Indicator Study, the industry has observed an increase in the levels of involvement and accountability of individuals within the insurance eco-system – including leaders, supervisors, agents, brokers, and financial advisers – on matters relating to ethics and conduct. This is good progress and we will continue to engage all stakeholders to further uplift the industry,” he said.

Notable actions taken by industry players include the enhancement of risk management frameworks and policies, the implementation of a Quality Assurance Scorecard for more comprehensive performance evaluations, and increased communication between management and staff to reinforce ethical standards and open dialogue.

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