On 30 September 2026, the Insurance Authority ("IA") published its latest edition of Conduct In Focus, reporting 652 complaints received in H1 2026 (a 10% YoY increase), and covering topics including responsible marketing amid clickbait trends, 'self-referral' arrangements, fake news on social platforms, Key Persons oversight, fit-and-proper assessments for Responsible Officers, insurance fraud combat efforts, and recent enforcement cases.
This article was generated using SAMS, an AI technology by Timothy Loh LLP.
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Overview of the Publication
On 30 September 2026, the Insurance Authority ("IA") issued its most recent edition of *Conduct In Focus*, a periodic publication dedicated to reporting complaint statistics and offering supervisory commentary on conduct matters pertaining to insurance intermediaries. The present edition addresses several areas of emerging regulatory concern, including digital marketing governance, non-compliant referral structures, misinformation risk, and core intermediary management obligations.
Complaints Statistics for the First Half of 2026
A total of 652 complaints were received by the IA during the first half of 2026. While this figure represents a year-on-year increase of approximately ten percent, it remains proportionately modest when set against the contemporaneous surge in premium growth across the insurance market.
Responsible Marketing and Digital Promotion Governance
The cover story of this edition examines responsible marketing practices in light of the increasing prevalence of clickbait content within digital promotional channels. The IA sets out best-practice governance frameworks for marketing activities, with a view to enabling insurers and intermediaries to reconcile commercial product promotion obligations against their fiduciary duty to protect customer interests.
Emerging Compliance Risk: Self-Referral Arrangements
The edition identifies an emerging form of non-compliant arrangement under the referral business model, specifically so-called *self-referral*. This practice involves intermediaries directing business to themselves through unchecked rebate mechanisms, thereby circumventing established compliance safeguards. The IA cautions that such arrangements are inherently likely to compromise fair treatment of customers and to undermine their interests.
Misinformation on Social Platforms and Abuse of Professional Investor Exemption
Further attention is drawn to the dissemination of fake news via social media platforms and its potential real-world consequences, particularly where there exists a risk of abuse of the professional investor exemption. The IA underscores that such misuse may carry significant legal and financial ramifications for affected parties.
Additional Supervisory Focus Areas
The edition also addresses three further matters within the scope of conduct supervision: (i) the critical role of Key Persons in Control Function for Intermediary Management in establishing effective oversight structures; (ii) the IA's continued emphasis on rigorous fit-and-proper assessments applicable to Responsible Officers; and (iii) ongoing efforts to combat insurance fraud, including a summary of recent enforcement actions undertaken by the Authority.
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