Members may be aware that the Research Project on Risk Management for the Travel Industry, commissioned by the TIC and carried out by Aon Hong Kong Limited, is nearing completion. I will not go into detail about the project here, as we have already sent out circulars to explain it to members and The Voice of TIC has also covered it.
I would like to briefly comment on two things. One is about the standards set out in the Risk Solutions Guideline . Realising that the many practices contained in the Guideline are currently adopted in Europe and America and may not be applicable in Hong Kong, we have asked Aon Hong Kong to compile a localised version, the Risk Solutions Manual , so that members will find its recommendations and measures workable and relevant to their day-to-day operation. A series of seminars on the Manual are held for members right now, and their participation is most welcome.
The other thing I would like to talk about is the importance of risk management. I understand that many members may not have paid much attention to the matter in the past. They may have thought that first, risk management costs them extra money and effort; and second, serious accidents seldom happen and thus they would not be so unfortunate as to be involved in such accidents. In response to this kind of thinking, I would like to ask them, "Surely, you wouldn't consider regular medical check-ups a waste of time and money?" The rationale behind risk management and medical check-ups is identical: prevention is much better than cure.
Finally, a few words about collective liability insurance. Aon Hong Kong is now working on a collective liability insurance scheme in accordance with requirements of the project. Once it is ready, we will announce it to members. But let me remind members that since such a scheme will inevitably involve a huge amount of capital and many members, it is too early to say whether it will materialise at the end of the day. When the scheme is announced, it is hoped that members will carefully examine its pros and cons, and then decide what needs to be done so that all will benefit.
Ronnie Ho
11 October 2007