63 Change of manager etc. of company from outside United Kingdom.
(1) In relation to a non-EC company whose head office is in an EFTA State ora Swiss general insurance company,—
(a) section 60 above shall have effect as if the references to a managing director or chief executive were references to a principal United Kingdom executive;
(b) section 61 above shall not apply;
(c) section 62 above shall have effect as if references to a director or manager were references to a principal United Kingdom executive, an employee within section 8(4)(c) above or an authorised United Kingdom representative.
(2) In relation to any other insurance company whose head office is outside the United Kingdom—
(a) section 60 above shall have effect as if the references to a chief executive included references to a principal United Kingdom executive; and
(b) section 62 above shall have effect as if the references to a director included references to a principal United Kingdom executive and to an authorised United Kingdom representative.
(3) In this section—
“principal United Kingdom executive” means an officer or employee within section 8(4)(b) or 9(6) above; and
“authorised United Kingdom representative” means a representative fulfilling the requirements of section 10 above or an individual representative of the kind described in subsection (5) of that section.
(1) A person resident or having its head office in a country or territory other than a member State who becomes the parent undertaking of an insurance company—
(a) which has its head office in the United Kingdom; and
(b) to which this Part of this Act applies,
shall before the expiration of the period of fourteen days beginning with the day next following that on which he becomes the parent undertaking notify the Secretary of State in writing of that fact.
(2) Subsection (1) above shall not apply if the insurance company concerned—
(a) is required to give notice to the Secretary of State in accordance with section 62(2) above; or
(b) is not authorised to carry on in any member State any insurance business other than reinsurance business.
(1) An insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies shall give written notice to the Treasury of the fact that any person has become or ceased to be a main agent of the company and, if a main agent is a body corporate or a firm, of the fact that any person has become or ceased to be a director of the body or partner of the firm.
(2) A notice under this section shall be given before the expiration of the period of fourteen days beginning with the day next following that on which the change comes to the knowledge of the insurance company.
(1) The Treasury shall deposit with the registrar of companies one copy of—
(a) any document deposited with the Treasuryunder section 22 above, including any document obtained under subsection (5) of that section;
(b) any document deposited with him under section 42(4) or 50(4) above.
(2) Subject to subsection (3) below, any document deposited under this section or section 25(5) or 26(3) above with the registrar of companies shall be open to inspection and copies thereof may be procured by any person on payment of such fees as the Secretary of State may direct.
(3) Subsection (2) above shall not apply to any document if it is a copy of a document in respect of which a dispensation has been granted under section 23(2) above.
(4) Every document deposited with the Treasury under this Part of this Act and certified by the registrar of companies to be a document so deposited shall be deemed to be a document so deposited; and every document purporting to be certified by the registrar of companies to be a copy of a document so deposited shall be deemed to be a copy of that document and shall be received in evidence as if it were the original document unless some variation between it and the original is proved.
Any insurance company which is required to prepare and deliver accounts under Articles 235 and 249 or Article 649 of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 shall deposit with the registrar of companies in Northern Ireland one copy of—
(a) any document deposited with the Treasury under section 22(1), . . .22(6), or 42(4) above or paragraph 5(5) of Schedule 2C to this Act;
(b) any document supplied by the company to the Treasury under section 22(5) above.
67 Power to treat certain business as or as not being ordinary long-term insurance business.
(1) The Treasurymay, on the application or with the consent of an insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies, by order direct that for the purposes of the application to the company of all or any of the provisions to which this section applies—
(a) business of a kind specified in the order, not being ordinary long-term insurance business, shall be treated as being such business; or
(b) ordinary long-term insurance business of a kind so specified shall be treated as not being such business.
(2) An order under subsection (1)(b) above may direct that the business specified in the order shall be treated as falling within a specified class of business.
(3) An order under this section may be subject to conditions and may be varied or revoked at any time by the Treasury.
(4) The provisions to which this section applies are sections 17 to 20, 25, 28 to 31, 42, 55, 56 and 59(2) of this Act and section 21 of the Policyholders Protection Act 1975 and Schedule 3 to that Act.
68 Power to modify Part II in relation to particular companies.
(1) The Treasury may, on the application or with the consent of an insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies, by order direct that all or any of the provisions to which this section applies shall not apply to the company or shall apply to it with such modifications as may be specified in the order.
(2) An order under this section may be subject to conditions.
(3) An order under this section may be revoked at any time by the Treasury; and the Treasury may at any time vary any such order on the application or with the consent of the company to which it applies.
(4) The provisions to which this section applies are sections 16 to 22, 23(1) 25 to 34 and 35 to 36 of this Act, the provisions of regulations made for the purposes of any of those sections and the provisions of any valuation regulations.
(4A) If regulations made for the purposes of this subsection so provide, the provisions to which this section applies shall also include section 34A above and the provisions of regulations made for the purposes of that section.
(5) In relation to section 31 above, subsection (1) above shall have effect as if the reference to an insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies included a reference to any subordinate company within the meaning of that section of any such insurance company.
69 Power to alter insurance company’s financial year.
The Treasury may extend or shorten, for the purposes of this Part of this Act, the duration of any financial year of an insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies.
(1) Any notice which is by this Part of this Act required to be sent to any policy holder may be addressed and sent to the person to whom notices respecting that policy are usually sent, and any notice so addressed and sent shall be deemed to be notice to the holder of the policy.
(2) Where any person claiming to be interested in a policy has given to the company notice in writing of his interest, any notice which is by this Part of this Act required to be sent to policy holders shall also be sent to that person at the address specified by him in his notice.
(3) Any notice to be served on any person by the Treasury under section 46, 60 or 61 above may be served by post, and a letter containing that notice shall be deemed to be properly addressed if it is addressed to that person at his last known residence or last known place of business in the United Kingdom.
(1) Any person who—
(a) makes default in complying with sections 28 to 30 or or 62(1), (1A) or (1B) above; or
(b) in purported compliance with a requirement imposed unde r section 43A or 44 above furnishes information which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly furnishes information which is false in a material particular; or
(c) causes or permits to be included in—
(i) any document copies of which are, by section 22 of this Act, required to be deposited with the Treasury;
(ii) any notice, statement or certificate served or furnished under or by virtue of section 19(2) or 26(1) above;
(iii) any document deposited with the Treasury under section 25(4) or 42(4) above;
(iv) any statement sent out under paragraph 2(2)(b) of Schedule 2C to this Act or made available under paragraph 7(1)(c) of that Schedule,
a statement which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly causes or permits to be so included any statement which is false in a material particular,
shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) Any person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) above shall be liable—
(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to a fine, or to both;
(b) on summary conviction—
(i) in England and Wales . . ., to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, if it is greater, the prescribed sum within the meaning of section 32 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980;
(ii) in Scotland, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, if it is greater, the prescribed sum within the meaning of section 225(8) of theCriminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995;
(iii) in Northern Ireland, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, if it is greater, the prescribed sum within the meaning of Article 4 of the Fines and Penalties (Northern Ireland) Order 1984.
(2AA) Any person who intentionally obstructs a person exercising rights conferred by section 44(4A) above shall be guilty of an offence and liable—
(a) on conviction on indictment, to a fine, and
(b) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum.
(2A) A person who intentionally obstructs the exercise of any rights conferred by a warrant issued under section 44A above or fails without reasonable excuse to comply with any requirement imposed in accordance with subsection (3)(d) of that section is guilty of an offence and liable—
(a) on conviction on indictment, to a fine, and
(b) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum.
(3) Subject to the following provisions of this section—
(a) any insurance company which makes default in complying with, or with a requirement imposed under, any provision of this Part of this Act, being a default for which no penalty is provided by the foregoing provisions of this section; and
(b) any other person who makes default in complying with, or with a requirement imposed under, section 26, 29(7), 31, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43A, 44, 45, 61(1) or 61A(1) above, paragraph 2(3) or 5(5) of Schedule 2C to this Act or Schedule 2D to this Act,
shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction in England and Wales and Scotland to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale and, on summary conviction in Northern Ireland to a fine not exceeding £400.
(4) Where a person continues to make default in complying with—
(a) section 22(1) . . ., 24(1), 25(4) or 42(4) above; or
(b) a requirement imposed under section 43 or 44(1) or (2B) above,
after being convicted of that default he shall be guilty of a further offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £40 for each day on which the default so continues.
(4A) A person who publishes or discloses any information or document in contravention of section 47A above shall be guilty of an offence under section 449 of the Companies Act or Article 442 of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 and liable accordingly.
(5) A person shall not be guilty of an offence by reason of his default in complying with section 61, 61A(1) or 62(1), (1A) or (1B) above if he proves that he did not know that the acts or circumstances by virtue of which he became or ceased to be a controller of the body in question were such as to have that effect.
(6) Where a person is charged with an offence in respect of his default in complying with a requirement imposed under section 44(2) or (3) above to produce any documents it shall be a defence to prove that they were not in his possession or control and that it was not reasonably practicable for him to comply with the requirement.
(7) An insurance company shall not be guilty of an offence by reason of its default in complying with section 16 21Aor 31A above or Part II of Schedule 2C to this Act (other than paragraph 7(1)(c)).
(1) Regulations may be made as to the form and contents of insurance advertisements.
(2) Regulations under this section may make different provision in relation to insurance advertisements of different classes or descriptions.
(3) Subject to subsection (4) below, any person who issues an insurance advertisement which contravenes regulations under this section shall be guilty of an offence.
(4) A person who in the ordinary course of his business issues an advertisement to the order of another person, being an advertisement the issue of which by that other person constitutes an offence under subsection (3) above, shall not himself be guilty of the offence if he proves that the matters contained in the advertisement were not (wholly or in part) devised or selected by him or by any person under his direction or control.
(5) In this section “insurance advertisement” means an advertisement inviting persons to enter into or to offer to enter into contracts of insurance, and an advertisement which contains information calculated to lead directly or indirectly to persons entering into or offering to enter into such contracts shall be treated as an advertisement inviting them to do so.
(6) In this section “advertisement” includes every form of advertising, whether in a publication or by the display of notices or by means of circulars or other documents or by an exhibition of photographers or cinematograph films or by way of sound broadcasting or television or by inclusion in any programme service (within the meaning of the Broadcasting Act 1990) other than a sound or television broadcasting service, and reference to the issue of an advertisement shall be construed accordingly.
(7) For the purposes of this section an advertisement issued by any person on behalf of or to the order of another person shall be treated as an advertisement issued by that other person; and for the purposes of any proceedings under this section an advertisement inviting persons to enter into or to offer to enter into contracts with a person specified in the advertisement shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to have been issued by that person.
72B Information for policy holders of EFTA companies.
(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, this section applies to a contract entered into by an EFTA company the effecting of which constitutes the provision of insurance in the United Kingdom.
(2) This section does not apply to a contract entered into by an authorised person the effecting of which constitutes the carrying on in the United Kingdom of investment business; and in this subsection expressions which are also used in the Financial Services Act 1986 have the same meanings as in that Act.
(3) Before entering into a contract to which this section applies, the company shall, unless the contract is for the coverage of large risks only, inform the other party to the contract of the EEA State in which is situated the establishment through which the risk or commitment is to be covered; and any document issued to that party by the company shall also contain that information.
(4) If the information required by subsection (3) above is furnished otherwise than in writing before the time when the contract is entered into, there is a sufficient compliance with that subsection if it is also furnished in writing as soon as practicable after that time.
(5) Any relevant document issued by an EFTA company in relation to a contract to which this section applies shall state—
(a) the address of the establishment through which the risk or commitment is or is to be covered; and
(b) where the insurance relates to relevant motor vehicle risks, the name and address of the claims representative.
(6) In this section 'relevant document’, in relation to a contract to which this section applies, means any proposal, policy or other document which, or statements contained in which, will or may bind the other parties to the contract.
(7) In this Act 'EFTA company’ means an insurance company—
(a) whose head office is in an EFTA State;
(b) which is authorised in accordance with Article 6 of the first general insurance Directive (as extended by the EEA Agreement) or Article 6 of the first long term insurance Directive (as so extended); and
(c) whose business in the United Kingdom is not restricted to reinsurance business.
(1) Regulations may be made for requiring any person who—
(a) invites another person to make an offer or proposal or to take any other step with a view to entering into a contract of insurance with an insurance company; and
(b) is connected with that company as provided in the regulations,
to give the prescribed information with respect to his connection with the company to the person to whom the invitation is issued.
(2) Regulations may be made for requiring any person who, in the course of carrying on any business or profession, issues any such invitation as is mentioned in subsection (1)(a) above in relation to an insurance company which is not an authorised insurer in respect of the contract in question to inform the person to whom the invitation is issued that the company is not such an insurer as aforesaid.
In this subsection “authorised insurer”, in relation to a contract of any description, means a person entitled to carry on in the United Kingdom insurance business of a class comprising the effecting of contracts of that description or an EC or EFTA company entitled to provide in the United Kingdom insurance of such a class.
(3) Any person who contravenes regulations under this section shall be guilty of an offence.
75 Statutory notice by insurer in relation to long term policy.
(1) Subject to subsections (5) and (5A) below, unless the requirements of subsection (1A) below are fulfilled—
(a) no insurance company which is authorised under section 3 or 4 above, no EC company and no member of Lloyd’s shall enter into a contract the effecting of which constitutes the carrying on of long term business in the United Kingdom; and
(b) no UK, EC or EFTA company and no member of Lloyd’s shall enter into a contract the effecting of which constitutes the provision of long term insurance in the United Kingdom.
(1A) The requirements of this subsection are that—
(a) the company or member (“the insurer”) sends by post to the other party to the contract, at or before the time when it is entered into, a statutory notice in relation to the contract; or
(b) in the case of an EC contract, a representative of the insurer gives such a notice to that party at that time.
(1B) Where, in the case of an EC contract, a statutory notice is sent to the other party to the contract before the time when it is entered into, the insurer shall, not later than 14 days after the contract has become binding, inform that party in writing that it has done so.
(2) For the purposes of this section a statutory notice is a notice which—
(a) contains such matters (and no others) and is in such form as may be prescribed for the purposes of this section and complies with such requirements (whether as to type, size, colour or disposition of lettering, quality or colour of paper, or otherwise) as may be prescribed for securing that the notice is easily legible; and
(b) has annexed to it a form of notice of cancellation of the prescribed description for use under section 76 below.
(3) The Treasury may, on the application of any insurer, alter the requirements of any regulations made for the purposes of subsection (2)(a) above so as to adapt those requirements to the circumstances of that insurer or to any particular kind of contract proposed to be entered into by that insurer.
(4) Any insurer who contravenes this section shall be guilty of an offence but, without prejudice to section 76(2) below, no contract shall be invalidated by reason of the fact that the insurer has contravened this section in relation to that contract.
(a) the insurer is a company whose head office is in a member State or a member of Lloyd’s; and
(b) the other party is habitually resident in the United Kingdom;
and “non-EC contract” means a contract to which subsection (1) above applies which is not an EC contract.
(5) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to any non-EC contract the effecting of which by the insurer constitutes the carrying on of industrial assurance business; and regulations may exempt from that subsection contracts of any other class or description.
(5A) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to a contract if the party other than the insurer is habitually resident in a member State other than the United Kingdom.
(5B) For the purposes of this section and section 76 below, “EC contract” means a contract to which subsection (1) above applies which fulfils the following conditions, namely—
(a) the insurer is a UK, EC or EFTA company or a member of Lloyd’s;
(b) the other party is habitually resident in the United Kingdom;
and “non-EC contract” means a contract to which subsection (1) above applies which is not an EC contract.
(5C) In the case of a contract involving two or more parties other than the insurer, this section and section 76 below shall have effect as if a separate contract were being or had been entered into by the insurer with each of those parties.
(6) In sections 76 and 77 below “insurer” and “statutory notice” have the same meaning as in this section.
76 Right to withdraw from transaction in respect of long term policy.
(1) A person who has received a statutory notice in relation to an EC contract may, before the expiration of the fourteenth day after that on which he is informed in writing that the contract has become binding, serve a notice of cancellation on the insurer.
(1A) A person who has received a statutory notice in relation to a non-EC contract may, before the expiration of—
(a) the tenth day after that on which he received the notice, or
(b) the earliest day on which he knows both that the contract has been entered into and that the first or only premium has been paid,
whichever is the later, serve a notice of cancellation on the insurer.
(2) A person to whom an insurer ought to have, but has not, sent a statutory notice in relation to any such contract as aforesaid may serve a notice of cancellation on the insurer; but if the insurer sends him a statutory notice in relation to that contract before he has served a notice of cancellation under this subsection, then, without prejudice to his right to serve a notice of cancellation under subsection (1) or (1A) above, his right to do so under this subsection shall cease.
(3) A notice of cancellation may, but need not, be in the form annexed to the statutory notice and shall have effect if, however expressed, it indicates the intention of the person serving it to withdraw from the transaction in relation to which the statutory notice was or ought to have been sent.
(4) Where a person serves a notice of cancellation, then—
(a) if at the time when the notice is served the contract has been entered into, the notice shall operate so as to rescind the contract;
(b) in any other case, the service of the notice shall operate as a withdrawal of any offer to enter into the contract which is contained in, or implied by, any proposal made to the insurer by the person serving the notice of cancellation and as notice to the insurer that any such offer is withdrawn.
(5) Where a notice of cancellation operates to rescind a contract or as the withdrawal of an offer to enter into a contract—
(a) any sum which the person serving the notice has paid in connection with the contract (whether by way of premium or otherwise and whether to the insurer or to a person who is the agent of the insurer for the purpose of receiving that sum) shall be recoverable from the insurer by the person serving the notice;
(b) any sum which the insurer has paid under the contract shall be recoverable by him from the person serving the notice.
(6) Any sum recoverable under subsection (5) above shall be recoverable as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(1) For the purposes of section 76 above a notice of cancellation—
(a) shall be deemed to be served on the insurer if it is sent by post addressed to any person specified in the statutory notice as a person to whom a notice of cancellation may be sent, and is addressed to that person at an address so specified; and
(b) where paragraph (a) above applies, shall be deemed to be served on the insurer at the time when it is posted.
(2) Subsection (1) above shall have effect without prejudice to the service of a notice of cancellation (whether by post or otherwise) in any way in which the notice could be served apart from that subsection, whether the notice is served on the insurer or on a person who is the agent of the insurer for the purpose of receiving such a notice.
(3) A notice of cancellation which is sent by post to a person at his proper address, otherwise than in accordance with subsection (1) above, shall be deemed to be served on him at the time when it is posted.
(4) So much of section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978 as relates to the time when service is deemed to have been effected shall not apply to a notice of cancellation.
(1) Regulations may be made, as respects the matters specified in subsection (2) below, in relation to contracts the effecting of which constitutes the carrying on of ordinary long-term insurance business and which—
(a) are entered into by insurance companies to which Part II of this Act applies ,by EC companies or by members of Lloyd’s; and
(b) are contracts under which the benefits payable to the policy holder are wholly or partly to be determined by reference to the value of, or the income from, property of any description (whether or not specified in the contract) or by reference to fluctuations in, or in an index of, the value of property of any description (whether or not so specified).
(2) Regulations under this section may make provision for—
(a) restricting the descriptions of property or the indices of the value of property by reference to which benefits under the contracts may be determined;
(aa) restricting the proportion of those benefits which may be determined by reference to property of a specified description or a specified index;
(b) regulating the manner in which and the frequency with which property of any description is to be valued for the purpose of determining such benefits and the times at which reference is to be made for that purpose to any index of the value of property;
(c) requiring insurers under the contracts to appoint valuers for carrying out valuations of property of any description for the purpose of determining such benefits (being valuers who comply with the prescribed requirements as to qualifications and independence from the insurer) and to furnish the Treasury with the prescribed information in relation to such appointments;
(d) requiring insurers under the contracts to furnish, in such manner and at such times or intervals as may be prescribed, such information relating to the value of the benefits under the contracts as may be prescribed, whether by sending notices to policy holders, depositing statements with the Treasury or the registrar of companies or the registrar of companies in Northern Ireland or with both such registrars, publication in the press or otherwise;
(e) requiring insurers under the contracts to furnish to the Treasury, in such manner and at such times or intervals as may be prescribed, such information certified in such manner as may be prescribed with respect to so much of their business as is concerned with the contracts or with any class or description of the contracts, and enabling the Treasury to publish such information in such ways as they think appropriate.
(3) Regulations made for the purposes of subsection (2)(d) above may, in relation to notices required to be sent to policy holders, impose requirements (whether as to type, size, colour or disposition of lettering, quality or colour of paper, or otherwise) for securing that such notices are easily legible.
(4) The Treasury may, on the application of any insurer, alter the requirements of any regulations under this section so as to adapt those requirements to the circumstances of that insurer or to any particular kind of contract entered into or proposed to be entered into by that insurer.
(5) Regulations under this section may, to such extent as may be specified therein, apply in relation to contracts entered into before the coming into operation of the regulations, including contracts entered into before the passing of this Act.
(6) Regulations under this section shall not apply in relation to any contract the effecting of which by the insurer constitutes the carrying on of industrial assurance business or to any contract entered into by an insurance company to which Part II of this Act applies by reason only that the policy holder is eligible to participate in any established surplus as defined in section 30(4) above.
Where an insurance company to which Part II of this Act applies carries on capital redemption business in the case of which the premiums in return for which a contract is effected are payable at intervals of less than six months, the company shall not give the holder of any policy issued after 2nd December 1909 any advantage dependent on lot or chance.
This section shall not be construed as in any way prejudicing any question as to the application to any such transaction, whether in respect of a policy issued before, on or after that date, of the law relating to lotteries.
(1) Any person guilty of an offence under section 72, 73 or 74 above shall be liable—
(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine, or to both;
(b) on summary conviction—
(i) in England and Wales , to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, if it is greater, the prescribed sum within the meaning of section 32 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980;
(ii) in Scotland, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, if it is greater, the prescribed sum within the meaning of section 225(8)of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995,
(iii) in Northern Ireland, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, if it is greater, the prescribed sum within the meaning of Article 4 of the Fines and Penalties (Northern Ireland) Order 1984.
(2) Any person who makes default in complying with, or with a requirement imposed under, any other provision of this Part of this Act shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction in England and Wales and Scotland to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale and, on summary conviction in Northern Ireland to a fine not exceeding £400.
81A Recognition in the United Kingdom of EC and EFTA companies.
Schedule 2F to this Act (which makes provision for or in connection with the recognition in the United Kingdom of EC and EFTA companies) shall have effect.
(1) Before entering into a contract for the provision of insurance in the United Kingdom, the insurance company shall inform the policy holder of the member State in which the establishment is situated through which the risk or commitmentis to be covered; and any document issued to the policy holder by the company shall also contain that information.
The requirements of this subsection do not apply where the contract is for the coverage of large risks only.
(2) An insurance company providing insurance in the United Kingdom shall ensure that—
(a) the address of the establishment through which the risk or commitmentis or is to be covered, and
(b) the address of the company’s head office, and
(c) where the insurance relates to relevant motor vehicle risks, the name and address of the claims representative,
are stated on any policy or ot1her document under the terms of which insurance is granted, and on the insurance proposal if statements in the proposal bind the proposer.
81CC Additional requirements with respect to relevant motor vehicle risks.
(1) An insurance company shall not provide insurance in the United Kingdom to cover relevant motor vehicle risks unless—
(a) it is a member of the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (being a company limited by guarantee and incorporated under the Companies Act 1929 on 14th June 1946); and
(b) it has appointed a claims representative who satisfies the requirements of subsections (2) to (6) below.
(2) The claims representative must be a person who has been designated as the insurance company’s claims representative for the purposes of this section.
(3) The claims representative must be authorised—
(a) to act on behalf of the insurance company and to represent, or to instruct others to represent, the insurance company in relation to any matters giving rise to relevant claims;
(b) to pay sums in settlement of relevant claims; and
(c) to accept service on behalf of the insurance company of proceedings in respect of relevant claims;
but the authority must not extend to the settlement of relevant claims.
(4) The claims representative must be authorised to represent the insurance company in any proceedings or enquiry to establish the existence or validity of a policy issued by the insurance company which covers or purports to cover relevant motor vehicle risks.
(5) Without prejudice to subsection (3) above, the claims representative must not act on behalf of the insurance company in the carrying on of its general business in the United Kingdom other than its reinsurance business, if any.
(6) The claims representative must—
(a) in the case of an individual, be resident in the United Kingdom;
(b) in the case of a corporation, have a place of business in the United Kingdom.
(7) In this section “relevant claim" means any claim which may be made against a policy issued by the insurance company to the extent that it covers relevant motor vehicle risks, whether or not submitted to the company and whether by a policyholder or by a third party having rights of action against the company or a policyholder or both.
(1) Where it appears to the Secretary of State that an insurance company providing insurance in the United Kingdom has failed to comply with any provision of this Act, he may require it to take such steps as he may specify to comply with that provision.
(2) If the company fails to comply with a requirement under subsection (1), the Secretary of State shall notify the competent authorities of the member State of establishment.
(3) If such a company persists in contravening a provision of this Act which has been the subject of a requirement under subsection (1), the Secretary of State may, after informing the competent authorities of the member State of establishment, direct the company to cease to provide insurance, or insurance of any specified description, in the United Kingdom.
(4) After giving such a direction, the Secretary of State shall by notice in writing inform the company of his reasons for doing so.
(5) A direction under this section does not prevent the company from effecting a contract of insurance in pursuance of a term of a subsisting contract of insurance.
(6) A requirement or direction under this section may be varied or revoked by the Secretary of State.
The Secretary of State may, for the purpose of facilitating the exercise by him of his functions under section 81D, require an insurance company providing insurance in the United Kingdom to furnish him, at specified times or intervals, with information about such matters as he may specify being, if he so requires, information verified in a specified manner.
(1) Where an insurance company is providing insurance in the United Kingdom and the Secretary of State is notified by the competent authorities of the member State of establishment, or of the company’s head office, that the authorisation of the company has been withdrawn in accordance with
(a) Article 22 of the first general insurance Directive; or
(b) Article 26 of the first long term insurance Directive, he may direct the company to cease to provide insurance, or insurance of any specified description, in the United Kingdom through all, or any specified, establishments.
(2) After giving such a direction, the Secretary of State shall by notice in writing inform the company of his reasons for doing so.
(3) A direction under this section does not prevent the company from effecting a contract of insurance in pursuance of a term of a subsisting contract of insurance.
(1) Where an insurance company intends to provide insurance in a member State other than the United Kingdom and—
(a) its head office is situated in the United Kingdom, or
(b) the insurance is to be provided through an establishment in the United Kingdom,
it shall before doing so notify the Secretary of State of its intention.
(2) The notification shall indicate—
(a) the member State in which the insurance is to be provided,
(b) the nature of the risks or commitmentswhich the company proposes to cover, and
(c) where the company’s head office is situated in the United Kingdom, the member State in which the establishment through which the risks or commitmentswill be covered is situated.
(3) Where the company intends to provide insurance in more than one member State, the information specified above may be contained in a single notification but must be set out separately in relation to each member State.
(4) Where a company has duly notified the Secretary of State of its intention to provide insurance in another member State where administrative authorisation is required for the provision of insurance, then, if the original notification related—
(a) only to risks or commitments in respect of which such authorisation is required, or
(b) only to risks or commitments in respect of which such authorisation is not required,
and the company subsequently intends to extend its activities to risks or commitments falling within the other category, it shall before doing so comply with subsections (1) to (3) above in relation to those risks or commitments.
(1) An insurance company whose head office is situated in the United Kingdom and which intends to provide insurance in another member State may apply to the Secretary of State for a certificate attesting—
(a) that the company possesses for its activities as a whole the minimum solvency margin calculated in accordance with the relevant provisions, and
(b) the company’s authorisation to carry on business in the United Kingdom, issued in accordance with Article 7(1) of therelevant Directive, enables the company to operate outside the member State of establishment.
(1A) In subsection (1) above “the relevant Directive" and “the relevant provisions" mean respectively–
(a) if the company intends to cover risks, the first general insurance Directive and Articles 16 and 17 of that Directive;
(b) if the company intends to cover commitments, the first long term insurance Directive and Articles 18, 19 and 20 of that Directive.
(2) insurance company which intends to provide insurance in another member State through an establishment in the United Kingdom may apply to the Secretary of State for a certificate—
(a) indicating the classes of insurance business which the company has been authorised to carry on in the United Kingdom, and
(b) stating that the Secretary of State does not object to the company providing the insurance.
(3) If it appears to the Secretary of State that a certificate applied for under subsection (1) or (2) ought to be issued, he shall issue the certificate accordingly.
(4) If the Secretary of State refuses to issue a certificate, he shall inform the company in writing of his decision and of the reasons for it.
(1) The Secretary of State shall not approve a transfer on an application under section 51(1) above (transfer of general business to another company in the United Kingdom) relating to policies written by way of provision of insurance in another member State unless—
(a) the transferee fulfils the conditions in Articles 13 to 16 of the second general insurance Directive in the member State where the risk is situated, and
(b) the supervisory authorities of that member State agree to the transfer.
(2) The Secretary of State may approve a transfer on an application under section 51(1) above notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (a)(ii) and (b) of subsection (4) of that section (which require the transferee to be carrying on insurance business in the United Kingdom and to be authorised under section 3 or 4 above) where he is satisfied that—
(a) the transfer relates to policies covering risks situated in another member State,
(b) the transferee is an insurance company established in another member State and the supervisory authorities of that member State agree to the transfer, and
(c) where the risk is not situated in the transferee’s member State of establishment—
(i) the transferee fulfils the conditions in Articles 13 to 16 of the second general insurance Directive in the member State where the risk is situated,
(ii) the law of that member State provides for the possibility of such a transfer, and
(iii) the supervisory authorities of that member State agree to the transfer.
(3) An instrument giving effect to any such transfer as is mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) above shall not bind a policy holder whose policy is included in the instrument unless notice of the execution of the instrument has been published, in a manner directed by the Secretary of State, in the member State in which the risk is situated.
(1) An insurance company commits an offence if it—
(a) provides insurance in the United Kingdom in contravention of section 81B, or
(b) makes default in complying with, or with a requirement imposed under, any other provision of this Part.
(2) A person commits an offence if—
(a) in purported compliance with a requirement under section 81E he furnishes information which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly furnishes information which is false in a material particular, or
(b) he causes or permits to be included in—
(i) a document required by section 81B to be sent to the Secretary of State, or
(ii) a notification sent to the Secretary of State under section 81G,
a statement which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly causes or permits to be so included a statement which is false in a material particular.
(3) A person committing an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
(1) In its application to industrial assurance business this Act shall have effect subject to the modifications specified in this section.
(2) Where an insurance company carries on any industrial assurance business, the company shall deposit with the Industrial Assurance Commissioner and the Industrial Assurance Commissioner for Northern Ireland a copy of any document which relates to industrial assurance business and which is deposited with the Treasury under section 22(1), . . . and (6) above or which is supplied by the company to the Treasuryunder section 22(5) above.
(3) The provisions of sections 22 and 23(1) above shall have effect in relation to any document mentioned in subsection (2) above as if references in those provisions to the Treasury included references to the Commissioner and the Commissioner for Northern Ireland.
(3A) In its application by virtue of subsection (3) above, section 22 above shall have effect with the following modifications —
(a) in subsection (1), for “the required copies of the document”there shall be substituted “two printed copies”,
(b) subsection (1A) shall be omitted,
(c) in subsection (3), for “In the case”there shall be substituted “One of the copies”and for “one of the printed copies, or as the case may be, the printed copy, of the document shall be”there shall be substituted “shall be a copy”, and
(d) in subsection (4), for “In the case”there shall be substituted “One of the copies”and for “one of the printed copies, or, as the case may be, the printed copy of the report shall be”there shall be substituted “shall be a copy”.
(4) Where any document required to be deposited by a company under subsection (4) of section 42 above relates to industrial assurance business the company shall also, within the time required under that subsection, deposit one copy of that document with the Commissioner and the Commissioner for Northern Ireland, and section 71(4) above shall have effect in relation to this subsection as it has effect in relation to that subsection.
(5) Where any business proposed to be transferred as mentioned in Part I of Schedule 2C to this Act above is or includes industrial assurance business that Part of that Schedule shall have effect as if references to the Treasury included references to the Commissioner and the Commissioner for Northern Ireland.
(6) Where any apportionment is made between the industrial assurance business and any other business carried on by the company in respect of management expenses, income from investments, gains or losses on the disposal of investments, appreciation or depreciation in the value of investments, or taxation, the auditor shall include in his report a special report as to the propriety or otherwise of the apportionment; and a copy of every report of the auditor shall be furnished to the Commissioner and the Commissioner for Northern Ireland.
(7) The provisions of this Act relating to industrial assurance business shall have effect notwithstanding anything in the memorandum or articles of association or rules or special Act of any insurance company carrying on such business; but nothing in this Act shall affect the liability of the industrial assurance fund or of the ordinary long-term insurance fund, in the case of a company established in Great Britain before 1st January 1924 or in Northern Ireland before 1st January 1925, to the prejudice of persons interested in contracts entered into by the company before that date.
(8) The Commissioner shall include in his annual report under section 44 of the Industrial Assurance Act 1923 a report on his proceedings under this Act, and that section shall have effect accordingly.
83 Requirements to be complied with by Lloyd’s underwriters.
(1) The requirements referred to in section 15(4) above are as follows.
(2) Every underwriter shall, in accordance with the provisions of a trust deed approved by the Treasury, carry to a trust fund all premiums received by him or on his behalf in respect of any insurance business.
(3) Premiums received in respect of long term business shall in no case be carried to the same trust fund under this section as premiums received in respect of general business, but the trust deed may provide for carrying the premiums received in respect of all or any classes of long term business and all or any classes of general business either to a common fund or to any number of separate funds.
(4) The accounts of every underwriter shall be audited annually by an accountant approved by the Committee of . . . and the auditor shall furnish a certificate in the prescribed form to the Committee and the Treasury.
(4A) The Council of Lloyd’s and the Treasury shall be furnished with a certificate from the accountant who audits the accounts of an underwriter which—
(a) is in the prescribed form; and
(b) contains the statements mentioned in subsection (5) below.
(5) The statements so required in relation to the accounts of an underwriter are statements that in the opinion of the auditor—
(a) the value of the assets available to meet the underwriter’s liabilities in respect of insurance business is correctly shown in the accounts; and
(b) the value of those assets is sufficient to meet the liabilities calculated—
(i) in the case of long term business by an actuary; and
(ii) in the case of other liabilities, by the auditor on a basis approved by the Treasury.
(6) Where any liabilities of an underwriter are calculated by an actuary under subsection (5) above, he shall furnish a certificate of the amount thereof to the Committee of Lloyd’s and to the Treasury, and shall state in his certificate on what basis the calculation is made; and a copy of his certificate shall be annexed to the auditor’s certificate.
(7) The underwriter shall, when required by the Committee of Lloyd’s, furnish to them such information as they may require for the purpose of preparing the statement of business which is to be deposited with the Treasury under section 86 below.
The powers conferred on the Treasury orthe Secretary of State which are exercisable in relation to UK companies by sections 38 to 41, 44 and 45 above shall be exercisable in relation to the members of Lloyd’s if there is a failure by Lloyd’s to satisfy an obligation to which it is subject by virtue of any provision of the law of another member Statewhich—.
(a) gives effect to the general and long term insurance Directives; or
(b) is applicable to the insurance activities of Lloyd’s in that State
(1) Subject to such modifications as may be prescribed and to any determination made by the Treasury in accordance with regulations, sections 32, 33 and 35 above shall apply to the members of Lloyd’s taken together as they apply to an insurance company to which Part II of this Act applies and whose head office is in the United Kingdom.
(2) The powers conferred on the Treasury or the Secretary of State by sections 38 to 41, 44 and 45 above shall be exercisable in relation to the members of Lloyd’s if there is a breach of an obligation imposed by virtue of subsection (1) above.
(1) Schedule 2C to this Actshall apply in relation to transfers to and from members of Lloyd’s if, and only if, the conditions specified in subsection (2) below are satisfied.
(2) The conditions referred to in subsection (1) above are—
(a) that the transfer is not one where both the transferor and the transferee are members of Lloyd’s;
(b) that the Committee of Lloyd’s have by resolution authorised one person to act in connection with the transfer for the members concerned as transferor or transferee;
(c) that a copy of the resolution has been given to the Treasury.
(3) Where the provisions of Part I or II of Schedule 2C to this Act apply in relation to a transfer to or from members of Lloyd’s they shall apply as if—
(a) references to a 'UK company’ included references to members of Lloyd’s;
(b) anything done in connection with the transfer by the person authorised in accordance with subsection (2)(b) above had been done by the members for whom he acted.
(4) Section 52A above shall apply as if the reference in subsection (1) to a UK company included a reference to members of Lloyd’s.
(5) In this section references to a member of Lloyd’s include references to a former underwriting member of Lloyd’s (within the meaning of the Lloyd’s Act 1982) who has ceased to be a member of Lloyd’s, whether by resignation or otherwise, in accordance with the Lloyd’s Act 1982 and any byelaw made thereunder.
(1) The Committee of Lloyd’s shall deposit every year with the Treasury a statement in the prescribed form summarising the extent and character of the insurance business done by the members of Lloyd’s in the twelve months to which the statement relates.
(2) Regulations made for the purposes of this section may require the statement to deal separately with such classes or descriptions of business as may be specified in the regulations.
87 Companies established outside the United Kingdom.
(1) The provisions specified in subsection (2) below, if, apart from this section they would not so apply, shall apply in relation to an insurance company incorporated outside the United Kingdom which carries on insurance business within Great Britain or, as the case may be, Northern Ireland as they apply in relation to oversea companies within the meaning of the Companies Act or, as the case may be, companies to which Part XXIII of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 applies.
(2) The provisions referred to in subsection (1) above are—
(a) sections 691, 692, 693(1), 695, 696 to 698, 700 to 703 and 708 of the Companies Act,
(c) Articles 641, 642, 643(1) and (2), 645, 646 to 648, 649 to 652 and 657 of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986.