Central bank (national claims information database) act 2018

Act Number42
Enactment Date27 December 2018


Number 42 of 2018


CENTRAL BANK (NATIONAL CLAIMS INFORMATION DATABASE) ACT 2018


CONTENTS

1. “Claim” - meaning of that expression

2. Claims to which Act applies

3. “Relevant non-life insurance business” - meaning of that expression

4. Interpretation

5. Expenses

6. Relevant class or classes of non-life insurance: specification of such by means of regulations

7. Risks based in the State: making of regulations in respect of such matters

8. Additional general function of Bank

9. Amendment of Schedule 2 to Act of 1942

10. Amendment of section 22 of Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013

11. Expenses of Bank

12. Provision of collected data in certain circumstances

13. Amendment of sections 8 and 14 of Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004

14. Regulations

15. Short title and commencement


Acts Referred to

Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (No. 26)

Central Bank Act 1942 (No. 22)

Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 (No. 31)

Data Protection Act 2018 (No. 7)

Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 (No. 37)

Insurance Act 1964 (No. 18)

Interpretation Act 2005 (No. 23)

Mediation Act 2017 (No. 27)

Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003 (No. 46)


Number 42 of 2018


CENTRAL BANK (NATIONAL CLAIMS INFORMATION DATABASE) ACT 2018


An Act to confer a function on the Central Bank of Ireland with respect to the collection and study of data from insurance undertakings in relation to the carrying on of certain non-life insurance business in the State and, in particular, information on the income generated by, and costs associated with, the carrying on of such business; for those purposes to amend Schedule 2 to the Central Bank Act 1942 and section 22 of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 ; in relation to personal injuries actions, to amend, in certain respects, the Civil Liability and Courts Act 2004 ; and to provide for related matters.

[27th December , 2018]

Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:

“Claim” - meaning of that expression

1. In this Act “claim” means an event or an alleged event that is—

(a) recorded in writing by an insurance undertaking as having been notified to it, and

(b) treated, for the time being, by the undertaking as giving rise to an actual or potential liability, on the part of the undertaking, under a policy to which it is party.

Claims to which Act applies

2. (1) This Act applies to a claim if, as respects the claim, the liability (actual or potential), as referred to in section 1 , of the insurance undertaking concerned is in respect of a risk falling within a relevant class of non-life insurance, where that risk is an Irish-based risk.

(2) A reference in this Act to a “relevant claim” shall be construed as a reference to a claim to which this Act applies.

“Relevant non-life insurance business” - meaning of that expression

3. In this Act “relevant non-life insurance business” means business comprising relevant classes of non-life insurance, the risks that fall within such classes being Irish-based risks.

Interpretation

4. (1) In this Act—

“Act of 1942” means the Central Bank Act 1942 ;

“Act of 1964” means the Insurance Act 1964 ;

“Bank” means the Central Bank of Ireland;

“business expenses” means the expenses incurred by an insurance undertaking in acquiring and providing relevant classes of non-life insurance business;

“claim” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1 ;

“class of non-life insurance”, means any class of insurance, other than class 2, referred to in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the European Union (Insurance and Reinsurance) Regulations 2015 ( S.I. No. 485 of 2015 );

“direct negotiation” includes negotiation involving, in whole or in part, the services of a solicitor or counsel;

“insurance undertaking” has the meaning assigned to it by section 15 of the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 ;

“Irish-based risk” means a risk, falling within a relevant class of non-life insurance, that, by virtue of regulations under section 7 (1), is regarded, for the purposes of this Act, as a risk based in the State;

“large relevant claim” means a relevant claim, the estimated or realised settlement or award value of which is not less than €150,000;

“MIBI Agreement” means the Agreement on the Compensation of Uninsured Road Accident Victims dated 29 January 2009 between the Minister for Transport and the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland and includes any subsequent agreement which amends or replaces that Agreement;

“MIBI payments” means payments made, in respect of a particular year, by an insurance undertaking, pursuant to the MIBI Agreement, to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland, including any payments made, in respect of that year, by the undertaking to the latter body in respect of changes in the reserves of the latter during that year;

“Minister” means the Minister for Finance;

“policy” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1 of the Act of 1964;

“relevant claim” shall be construed in accordance with section 2 (2);

“relevant class of non-life insurance” means any class of non-life insurance that, by virtue of regulations under section 6 (3), is specified to be a relevant class of non-life insurance for the purposes of this Act;

“relevant non-life insurance business” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 ;

“settlement channel” shall be construed in accordance with subsection (2).

(2) A reference in this Act to a settlement channel shall be construed as a reference to the means by which a relevant claim is either—

(a) finally resolved - as referred to in subsection (4)(a), or

(b) finally disposed of in the insurance undertaking’s favour - as referred to in subsection (4)(b),

being any means that—

(i) involves a step or proceedings referred to in any of paragraphs (a) to (h) of subsection (3) being taken, or

(ii) without prejudice to what is referred to in paragraph (i), involves 2 or more steps or proceedings referred to in any of the foregoing paragraphs of subsection (3) (or elements of any of those steps or proceedings) being taken in a sequence whereby the final stage of them, in the opinion of the Bank, represents in practice a means by which a relevant claim may be so resolved or disposed of,

and a reference to the particular settlement channel used shall be construed as a reference to the particular step or proceedings, so referred to and taken (or, in the case of paragraph (ii), that which represents the final stage, as described in that paragraph, in the particular sequence of steps, proceedings or elements of them).

(3) Each of the following, in relation to a relevant claim, is a step or proceedings referred to in subsection (2)

(a) direct negotiation, without that activity being preceded by employment of the procedures referred to in paragraph (b),

(b) the employment of the procedures under the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003 ,

(c) direct negotiation, subsequent to employment of the procedures referred to in paragraph (b),

(d) the final determination by a court of legal proceedings instituted in respect of the claim,

(e) the settlement of such legal proceedings,

(f) arbitration,

(g) mediation (within the meaning of the Mediation Act 2017 ), or

(h) any other means whatsoever.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (2) a relevant claim is—

(a) finally resolved when the claim is treated by the insurance undertaking as having been satisfied by it, and

(b) finally disposed of in the insurance undertaking’s favour when the claim is no longer treated by it as giving rise to any liability (actual or potential) on its part,

and (whether it is paragraph (a) or (b) that applies) the fact of the claim being so treated is (by whatsoever words used) stated in a record in writing prepared by the undertaking in the ordinary course of business.

(5) A reference in this Act to a record in writing or to a matter being recorded in writing includes a reference to any means, or the use of any means, by which a matter is recorded otherwise than in legible form but in a manner that enables the matter to be reproduced in legible form.

Expenses

5. The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, be paid out of monies provided by the Oireachtas.

Relevant class or classes of non-life insurance: specification of such by means of regulations

6. (1) In this section—

“relevant object” means the object (in furtherance of which this Act has been enacted) that information be made available to the State so as to enable the identification of factors that influence the cost of relevant non-life insurance business across—

(a) the various sectors of the economy, and

(b) the various situations in which individuals have recourse to providing themselves with insurance cover;

“relevant principle” means the principle that, on any given occasion of the duty under subsection (3) being carried out and taking account of any existing classes of non-life insurance standing specified, priority shall be given by the Bank to the specification of a class that, in the opinion of the Bank, having regard to—

(a) the cost of insurance, associated with that class, for a sector, or individuals in a situation, referred to in the definition of “relevant object” in this subsection, and

(b) the possible adverse effects of such cost for that sector or those individuals,

is most likely to further the relevant object;

“specification of a class” means the specification, by regulations under subsection (3), of one or more classes of non-life insurance to be relevant classes of non-life insurance for the purposes of this Act...

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