European Communities (Life Assurance) Regulations, 1984

JurisdictionIreland
CitationIR SI 57/1984
Year1984

S.I. No. 57 of 1984.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (LIFE ASSURANCE) REGULATIONS, 1984.

I, JOHN BRUTON, Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and the Trade, Commerce and Tourism (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1983 (S.I. 384 of 1983), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive 79/267/EEC*, hereby make the following Regulations:

*OJ L63, 13.3.1979, pp. 1-18.

PART I

Preliminary and general

1 Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Life Assurance) Regulations, 1984, and shall come into operation on the 14th day of March, 1984.

2 Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations:—

"assurance licence" has the meaning assigned to it by the Insurance Act, 1936 (No. 45 of 1936);

"the Annex" means the Annex to the Directive in which the classes of insurance set out in Schedule I to these Regulations are specified;

"authorisation" means an authorisation under these Regulations, except where the context otherwise requires;

"capital at risk" means the amount payable on death less the mathematical reserve in respect of the relevant contracts;

"the Directive" means EEC Council Directive 79/267/EEC;

"industrial assurance business" has the meaning assigned to it by the Insurance Act, 1936 (No. 45 of 1936);

"member State" means a State which is a member of the European Communities;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism;

"life assurance" means insurance of a class specified at a reference number in the Annex;

"person", "body" and "insurance undertaking" or "assurance undertaking" includes any legal entity specified in Article 8 (1) (a) of the Directive;

"permanent health insurance" has the meaning assigned to it by Article 8 of these Regulations;

"supervisory authority" means, in respect of any territory, the authority charged by law with the duty of supervising the activities of insurance undertakings or assurance undertakings in that territory;

"unit of account" has the meaning assigned to it by the European Communities (Non-Life Insurance) (Amendment) Regulations, 1976 (S.I. 276 of 1976);

"zillmerizing" means the method known by that name for modifying the net premium reserve method of valuing a long term policy by increasing the part of the future premiums for which credit is taken so as to allow for initial expenses.

(2) In these Regulations, any word or phrase to which a meaning is assigned by the Directive has that meaning.

3 Scope

3. (1) Subject to subarticle (2) of this Article, these Regulations apply to insurance of a class specified in the Annex and to undertakings carrying on such insurance.

(2) These Regulations do not apply to—

(a) the kinds of insurance specified in Articles 2(1) and 2(4) of the Directive,

(b) the operations specified in Articles 2(2) and 2(3) of the Directive,

(c) the organisations and mutual associations excluded from the application of the Directive by Article 3 thereof.

4 ..

4. (1) A person shall not carry on the business of life assurance in the State unless he is the holder of an authorisation under these Regulations granted by the Minister, unless he carries on such business in accordance with the terms of the authorisation and unless he has established an insurance undertaking in the State.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations, an insurance undertaking shall be deemed to be or to have been established in the State in accordance with subarticle (1) of this Article if—

(a) it has in the State an office, the existence of which is notified to the public and which is open during normal business hours for the transaction of life assurance business for which it is authorised, and

(b) it employs at such office persons duly qualified to carry on the business transacted and empowered to issue cover for the authorised classes and to settle claims.

(3) No insurance of a class contained in the Annex shall be entered into except in the exercise of the power to issue cover granted under subarticle (2) (b) of this Article.

(4) Section 9 of the Insurance Act, 1936 , shall apply to an authorisation issued under these Regulations.

5 Authorisations

5. (1) Where the Minister is satisfied that an undertaking applying for an authorisation and having its head office in the territory of a member State complies with the appropriate provisions of these Regulations and of the Insurance Acts 1909 to 1983, he shall grant that undertaking an authorisation.

(2) Where the Minister is satisfied that an undertaking applying for an authorisation and not having its head office in the territory of a member State complies with the appropriate provisions of these Regulations and of the Insurance Acts, 1909 to 1983, he may at his discretion grant that undertaking an authorisation.

(3) No undertaking may carry on the business of life assurance and the business of non-life insurance of a class referred to in Schedule I to the European Communities (Non-Life Insurance) Regulations, 1976 (S.I. 115 of 1976).

(4) An undertaking which on the 15th day of March, 1979 carried on both life assurance and non-life insurance business in a member State where its head office is situated shall not be granted an authorisation by the Minister to enable it to carry on through a branch or agency business other than insurance of a class referred to in Schedule I to the European Communities (Non-Life Insurance) Regulations, 1976 (S.I. 115 of 1976).

(5) (a) Where a branch or agency of an undertaking referred to in subarticle (4) was on the 15th day of March, 1979 carrying on life assurance in accordance with an assurance licence issued by the Minister, such branch or agency may be granted an authorisation by the Minister to enable it to continue to carry on such business.

(b) If the undertaking applies for and is granted an authorisation to carry on non-life insurance by way of a branch or agency in accordance with subarticle (4), it may no longer carry on life assurance by way of a branch or agency and may only carry on that business by way of a subsidiary company in accordance with an authorisation granted by the Minister.

(6) Subject to these Regulations, the provisions of the Insurance Acts, 1909 to 1983, shall, where applicable and subject to any necessary modifications, apply to undertakings holding authorisations under these Regulations.

6 ..

6. (1) Subject to subarticle (3) of this Article, an assurance licence granted before the commencement of these Regulations in respect of a class of assurance specified in column (1) of Schedule II to these Regulations shall be deemed to be an authorisation in respect of the class of insurance specified at that reference number in column (2) of that Schedule, except that the licence holder must have carried on business corresponding to that class immediately before the commencement of these Regulations.

(2) An assurance licence granted under the Insurance Act, 1936 , to a foreign company (within the meaning of that Act) and deemed to be an authorisation by subarticle (1) of this Article shall apply only in respect of the branch or agency of that company in the State.

(3) A body may not carry on industrial assurance business by virtue of this Article unless it was carrying on such business immediately before the commencement of these Regulations.

(4) On the issue to an undertaking of an authorisation under these Regulations, any licence granted to that undertaking under the Insurance Act, 1936 , shall cease to have effect, but without prejudice to the obligations of that undertaking under the Insurance Acts, 1909 to 1983.

7 ..

7. (1) The Minister may grant an authorisation to an undertaking to carry on such of the classes of insurance business specified in the Annex or such parts of those classes as may be specified in the authorisation.

(2) An authorisation granted under this Article may be restricted to industrial assurance business and a body may not carry on industrial assurance business by virtue of an authorisation granted under these Regulations unless the authorisation expressly extends to such business.

(3) An authorisation shall be in the appropriate form set out in Schedule III to these Regulations.

8 Permanent health insurance

8. (1) In these Regulations "permanent health insurance" means the business of effecting and carrying out contracts of insurance providing specified benefits against risks of persons becoming incapacitated in consequence of sustaining injury as a result of an accident or of an accident of a specified class or of sickness or infirmity, being contracts that—

(a) are expressed to be in effect for a period of not less than five years or until normal retirement age for the persons concerned, or without limit of time, and

(b) either:

(i) are not expressed to be terminable by the insurer under the terms of the contract, or

(ii) are expressed to be so terminable only in special circumstances mentioned in the contract.

(2) Subject to subarticle (3) of this Article, permanent health insurance shall not be carried on by an undertaking in the State unless that undertaking holds an authorisation granted in respect of Class IV in Schedule I to these Regulations.

(3) Non-life insurance undertakings transacting, at the commencement of these Regulations, permanent health insurance under the Insurance Act, 1936 shall cease to carry on such business not later than the 15th day of September, 1985.

(4) Section 32 (e) of the Assurance Companies Act, 1909 shall not apply to a transfer of the business of permanent health insurance.

PART II

9 ..

9. Articles 10 to 25 of these Regulations shall apply to an undertaking which has or proposes to have its head office in the State or which has its...

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