Hong Kong’s Insurance Authority has suspended recognition of the FLMI qualification for meeting the academic requirements to apply for an insurance-intermediary licence, after police arrested 15 people over an alleged examination-cheating scheme. The authority said it would examine cases linked to the centre involved.
The suspects comprised 11 alleged core members of the operation and four examination candidates, according to police. The group allegedly included current and former licensed insurance practitioners, and the 15 were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud.
Police alleged that the operation offered candidates a one-stop service covering registration, preparation, arrangements at the examination centre and cheating assistance. Candidates allegedly paid an additional HK$14,000 for the service beyond the official examination fee.
The alleged method involved installing remote-control software on candidates’ computers. A person using another computer could then control the screen and answer questions, while invigilators allegedly instructed candidates to remain seated and appear to continue working before submitting the answers later.
Police raided the examination centre in Kwun Tong while an examination was taking place on August 27, 2026, and searched other associated premises. Computers, examination records, financial documents and communications equipment were seized during the operation.
The investigation began after the Insurance Authority received complaints in October 2025 alleging that an education institution was helping candidates cheat in FLMI examinations. The authority referred the matter to the Commercial Crime Bureau in January 2026, before the arrests and searches on August 27. The suspension of FLMI recognition was announced the following day.
Reports said at least about 250 people obtained FLMI qualifications through the implicated centre and subsequently secured insurance licences, although the reports describe the potentially affected group differently. The authority has said it will review people who obtained the qualification through the centre; the review does not mean that all linked licence holders were involved in wrongdoing.
FLMI is a professional insurance qualification awarded by US-based LOMA and is recognised as one route for satisfying the academic requirement for an insurance-intermediary licence. The Insurance Authority said FLMI was used by only a small proportion of intermediaries, so the suspension was not expected to have a significant effect on the insurance industry. It will investigate related cases as the review proceeds.