Training and Development 培訓及發展

Training versus Development, and Why They Matter 培訓與發展的分別及重要性

Training focuses on the specific knowledge and skills needed for a person's current job, such as learning the terms of a new product or an underwriting procedure. Its aims are specific and its results show fairly quickly. Development is broader and longer term. It prepares staff for greater responsibilities in the future, for example by building management and leadership ability, and is closely tied to the company's succession planning.

Insurance is a service industry built on expertise and trust, with complex products and many rules. Good training and development raise the competence and service standards of staff and intermediaries. They also reduce errors and complaints in underwriting, claims and selling, and help the company meet regulatory requirements.

Training and development also improve morale and staff retention, because employees can see a career path. They help ensure the company has suitable people ready to fill key posts when staff leave or the business grows.

Who Is Trained, and in What 培訓對象及內容

In-house staff: new employees normally start with induction training, which introduces the company's structure, culture, policies and working rules. They then receive technical training for their department, such as underwriting, claims, actuarial, accounting or IT knowledge. They are also trained in non-technical skills such as customer service, communication and management.

Insurance intermediaries: an insurer trains the licensed insurance agents it appoints in product knowledge, selling skills, needs analysis and compliance. This covers matters such as giving suitable advice, making proper disclosure and meeting anti-money laundering requirements. An insurer must have proper controls over its appointed agents, and training is an important part of those controls. Training does not, however, relieve the insurer of its responsibility for its agents' conduct.

Training Methods and Professional Qualifications 培訓方法及專業資格

Common training methods include classroom teaching, seminars, e-learning, on-the-job training (where an experienced colleague guides the trainee through real work), coaching and mentoring schemes, and job rotation (moving staff through different departments to broaden their experience). A company usually chooses the method that fits the aim, the audience and the cost.

Insurers also encourage staff to gain professional qualifications, and may pay course fees or give study leave. Examples are the ACII and FCII awarded by the Chartered Insurance Institute and the FLMI awarded by LOMA. Such qualifications improve the holder's professional standing and raise standards across the industry.

Regulatory Requirements: Qualifying Examinations and CPD 監管要求：資格考試及持續專業培訓

In Hong Kong, a person must pass the relevant papers of the Insurance Intermediaries Qualifying Examination (IIQE) before applying to the Insurance Authority for a licence as an insurance intermediary. For example, general business needs Papers I and II, long term business needs Papers I and III, and investment-linked long term business also needs Paper V.

Once licensed, an individual licensed insurance intermediary must follow the Insurance Authority's Guideline on Continuing Professional Development for Licensed Insurance Intermediaries (GL24). This requires at least 15 CPD hours in each assessment period (1 August to 31 July the following year), of which at least 3 hours must be on ethics or regulations.

Meeting the CPD requirement is mainly the licensee's own responsibility. Insurers, licensed insurance agencies and licensed insurance broker companies should still have systems to check that their people comply. Failing to comply may cast doubt on whether the person is still fit and proper, which can affect their licence.