European Communities (Non-Life Insurance) Regulations, 1976

JurisdictionIreland
CitationIR SI 115/1976

S.I. No. 115 of 1976.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (NON-LIFE INSURANCE) REGULATIONS, 1976.

I, JUSTIN KEATING, Minister for Industry and Commerce, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), hereby make the following Regulations:

PART IPRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

1 Citation and Commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Non-Life Insurance) Regulations, 1976, and shall come into operation on the 31st day of May, 1976.

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 which is set out in Schedule I to these Regulations;

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

"the Directive" means EEC Council Directive 73/239/EEC*;

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

"the Minister" means the Minister for Industry and Commerce;

"non-life insurance" means insurance of a class specified at a reference number in Section A of the Annex;

"person" includes any legal entity specified in Article 8 (1) (a) of the Directive;

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

"unit of account" means that unit which is defined in Article 4 of the Statute of the European Investment Bank.

* OJ No. L 228, 16/8/1973, pages 3-19.

(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 paragraph 1 of Article 2 of the Directive,

( b ) the operations specified in paragraph 2 of Article 2 of the Directive,

( c ) mutual associations excluded from the application of the Directive by Article 3 thereof,

( d ) the Voluntary Health Insurance Board.

4 ..

4. (1) Subject to subarticle (6) of this Article, a person shall not carry on the business of non-life insurance 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 non-life insurance 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) All underwriting syndicates of Lloyd's authorised under these Regulations shall be deemed to be established in the State at the office of Lloyd's in the State and shall be deemed to comply with the requirements of subarticle (1) of this Article if at that office the requirements of subarticle (2) of this Article are fulfilled.

(4) 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 save as provided in subarticle (6) of this Article.

(5) Section 9 of the Insurance Act, 1936 , shall apply to an authorisation issued under these Regulations except in the case of a contract under subarticle (6) of this Article.

(6) An undertaking which is the holder of an authorisation granted by the supervisory authority of another member State in respect of the carrying on of business in insurance of a class to which these Regulations apply and whose head office is situated in the territory of another member State may, notwithstanding subarticle (1) of this Article, carry on in the State insurance business in the following classes of the Annex, namely, 5, 6, 7, 11 and 12 and in classes 1 and 10 insofar as they relate to the insurance of passengers in marine and aviation vehicles and carrier's liability insurance, respectively, without an authorisation under these Regulations, provided that the undertaking has notified the Minister of its intention to carry on such business in this manner and that the Minister has given his consent.

5 Authorisations

5. (1) Where the Minister is satisfied that an insurance 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, he shall grant that undertaking an authorisation.

(2) Where the Minister is satisfied that an insurance 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, he may at his discretion grant that undertaking an authorisation.

(3) Subject to these Regulations, the provisions of the Insurance Acts, 1909 to 1971 shall, where applicable, and subject to any necessary modifications, apply to undertakings holding authorisations under these Regulations.

6 ..

6. (1) An assurance licence granted before the commencement of these Regulations in respect of a class of insurance 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.

(2) A licence issued under the Insurance Act, 1936 , to a foreign company 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) The undertaking known as Lloyd's of London may be authorised for all classes of the Annex subject to the requirements of these Regulations being fulfilled and to the surrender of existing licences by separate syndicates of Lloyd's.

(4) The Minister may grant an authorisation in respect of any group of classes specified in column (3) of Schedule II to these Regulations in accordance with Section B of the Annex.

(5) An authorisation granted for a particular class or group of classes of insurance shall also be valid for the purpose of covering ancillary risks included in another class if the conditions specified in Section C of the Annex are fulfilled.

7 ..

7. (1) An authorisation shall be granted for a class of insurance mentioned at a reference number in the Annex and specified in the authorisation, and, subject to subarticle (2) of this Article, shall relate to the entire of that class.

(2) Where an applicant for an authorisation desires the authorisation to relate to part only of a class (being a sub-group of a class specified in the Annex at the relevant reference number) the authorisation shall relate to that part only, but without prejudice to the Minister's power to require the full guarantee fund relating to the entire class to which such part belongs, as specified in Articles 19 and 29 of these Regulations.

(3) The forms set out in Schedule III of these Regulations shall be the forms of authorisations.

PART II.

8 ..

8. Articles 9 to 23 of these Regulations shall apply to an undertaking which has or proposes to have its head office in the State or which has its head office in another member State and has established or proposes to establish a branch or agency in the State.

9 ..

9. An application for an authorisation may be made to the Minister by—

( a ) any non-life insurance undertaking which has established or proposes to establish itself in the State and to establish its head office in the State,

( b ) any non-life insurance undertaking which is established with its head office in the territory of another member State and which establishes or proposes to establish itself in the State,

( c ) any non-life insurance undertaking which is the holder of an authorisation related to a particular class or particular classes of insurance and which proposes to extend its business in the State to another class of insurance or to part of another class.

10 Conditions appropriate to a Head Office Undertaking

10. (1) Any undertaking having or proposing to have its head office in the State and applying for an authorisation shall comply with the following provisions:

( a ) it shall be a company limited by shares, a company limited by guarantee or an unlimited company within the meaning (in each case) of section 5 (2) of the Companies Act, 1963 (No. 33 of 1963);

( b ) it shall limit its business activities to the business of insurance and to operations directly arising therefrom, to the exclusion of all other commercial business;

( c ) it shall submit to the Minister a scheme of operations in accordance with Article 9 of the Directive;

( d ) it shall possess the minimum guarantee fund referred to in Article 19 of these Regulations.

(2) An undertaking having its head office in the State applying for an authorisation to extend its business to other classes of insurance, shall—

( a ) submit to the Minister a scheme of operations in accordance with Article 9 of the Directive in relation to such other classes of insurance, and

( b ) prove to the satisfaction of the Minister that it possesses the solvency margin required by Article 16 of these Regulations and, where a higher minimum guarantee fund is required by Article 19 of these Regulations, that it possesses such minimum guarantee fund.

(3) Undertakings referred...

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