University of Leicester

Professional: A Study of Hong Kong's Insurance Industry

Professionals and those with qualifications belonging to associations and organizations have had their own system and business model that gives them a certain �competitive advantage� in the commercial world. There have been quite a number of studies and research into the success of �professionals� that focus on what factors contribute to building a profession such as that by Reitz (2003) or in more general focus on ethics of marketing and sales such as Hunt and Vasquez-Parraga (1993) . Still it is often heard over the news or from other channels there are scandals from certain professional. This research paper will take pass and current research to the next level to see what else should and can be done to improve and make the words �professional� and �profession� more meaningful.

The insurance industry in Hong Kong for many years have faced bad images and some customers even say agents are �liars� or �trash�. With the establishment of the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers (here forth as HKFI), the Insurers Intermediates Qualification Scheme (here forth as IIQAS) and the industry has improved its image and increased its recognition as a profession. With the help and advice from sales managers, customers and existing literature reviews, this research will build on giving the industry some insights for making it more �professional� in terms of meeting the customers� needs. Comparing the different views, attempts to making suggestions to closing the gap will be made.