Insurance (Amendment) Act 2018

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 21/2018

Number 21 of 2018
INSURANCE (AMENDMENT) ACT 2018
CONTENTS
PART 1
Preliminary and General
1. Short title, commencement, collective citation and construction
2. Definitions
3. Expenses
4. Savings and transitional provisions
PART 2
The Fund
5. Final accounts of Fund
6. Moneys to be paid to Bank
7. Records of Accountant
PART 3
Amendment of Act of 1964
8. Amendment of section 1 of Act of 1964 (definitions)
9. Amendment of section 2 of Act of 1964 (Insurance Compensation Fund)
10. Amendment of section 3 of Act of 1964 (payments out of Fund)
11. Amendment of section 3A of Act of 1964 (application by liquidator of insolvent insurer)
12. Amendment of section 3B of Act of 1964 (application where insurer in liquidation is insurer authorised in another Member State)
13. Amendment of section 3C of Act of 1964 (payments out of Fund where administrator appointed)
14. Amendment of section 6 of Act of 1964 (contributions to Fund by insurers)
15. Repeal of section 14 of Act of 1964 (regulations)
PART 4
Motor Insurers Insolvency Compensation Fund
16. Motor Insurers Insolvency Compensation Fund
PART 5
Consequential Amendments
17. Amendment of National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act 2000
Acts Referred to
Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (No. 26)
Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 (No. 39)
Insurance Act 1964 (No. 18)
Insurance Acts 1909 to 2015
Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Act 2017 (No. 10)
National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act 2000 (No. 39)
Road Traffic Act 1961 (No. 24)
Number 21 of 2018
INSURANCE (AMENDMENT) ACT 2018
An Act to amend and extend the law relating to insolvent insurers; to provide for the transfer of the administration of the Insurance Compensation Fund to the Central Bank of Ireland; to provide for the conferral of certain functions on the Central Bank of Ireland and the National Treasury Management Agency relating to the Insurance Compensation Fund and payments to certain persons in the case of insolvent insurers; to provide for the establishment of a fund to be known as the Motor Insurers Insolvency Compensation Fund and the manner in which that fund shall be administered, controlled and managed by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland; to provide for the making of contributions by vehicle insurers to that fund, the rate of the contribution to be made and adjustments to that rate; to provide for enforcement of the provisions relating to the making of those contributions; for those purposes to amend and extend the Insurance Act 1964 and the National Treasury Management Agency (Amendment) Act 2000 ; and to provide for related matters.
[24th July, 2018]
Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:
PART 1 Preliminary and General
		Short title, commencement, collective citation and construction
1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Insurance (Amendment) Act 2018.
	(2) Part 4 shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.
	(3) The Insurance Acts 1909 to 2015 and this Act (other than Part 5 ) may be cited together as the Insurance Acts 1909 to 2018 and shall be construed together as one.
		Definitions
2. In this Act—
	“Accountant” means the Accountant attached to the High Court by virtue of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 ;
	“Act of 1964” means the Insurance Act 1964 ;
	“Bank” means the Central Bank of Ireland;
	“Fund” means the Insurance Compensation Fund established by section 2 of the Act of 1964;
	“State Claims Agency” means the National Treasury Management Agency when performing the functions conferred on it by this Act.
		Expenses
3. The expenses incurred by the Minister for Finance 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 moneys provided by the Oireachtas.
		Savings and transitional provisions
4. (1) Anything commenced and not completed before the coming into operation of this section by or under the authority of the Accountant may, in so far as it relates to a function conferred on the Bank by sections 2, 3A, 3B and 3C of the Act of 1964 (as amended by Part 3 ), be carried on or completed on or after such coming into operation by the Bank.
	(2) Anything commenced and not completed before the coming into operation of this section by or under the authority of the Accountant may, in so far as it relates to a function conferred on the State Claims Agency by sections 3A, 3B and 3C of the Act of 1964 (as amended by Part 3 ), be carried on or completed on or after such coming into operation by the State Claims Agency.
PART 2 The Fund
		Final accounts of Fund
5. (1) As soon as practicable, but not later than 3 months after the coming into operation of this Part, the Accountant shall cause to be prepared an abstract of the accounts of the Fund, and a report of the administration of the Fund, in respect of the accounting period or part thereof of the Fund ending immediately before the said coming into operation.
	(2) The Accountant shall arrange for the abstract and report referred to in subsection (1) to be audited and, as soon as is practicable after the audit, shall submit a copy of the abstract and report as so audited, together with the auditor’s report thereon, to the Minister for Finance who shall cause copies of those documents to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as practicable.
		Moneys to be paid to Bank
6. The Accountant shall, not later than 30 days after the preparation of the abstract and report referred to in section 5 (1) pay moneys, if any, standing to the credit of the Fund to the Bank for the purposes of the performance by the Bank of its functions under the Act of 1964.
		Records of Accountant
7. (1) Each record held, immediately before the coming into operation of this Part, by the Accountant under the Act of 1964 in relation to the accounts of the Fund shall, on such coming into operation, be transferred to the Bank and shall, on and after such coming into operation, be the property of the Bank and be regarded as being held by the Bank.
	(2) Each record held, immediately before the coming into operation of this Part, by the Accountant under the Act of 1964 in relation to applications to the High Court for approvals under section 3 of that Act and payments out of the Fund shall, on such coming into operation, be transferred to the State Claims Agency and shall, on and after such coming into operation, be the property of the State Claims Agency and be regarded as being held by the State Claims Agency.
PART 3 Amendment of Act of 1964
		Amendment of section 1 of Act of 1964 (definitions)
8. Section 1 of the Act of 1964 is amended by inserting the following definitions:
	“ ‘financial services legislation’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 (1) of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 ;
	‘Member State’ means a Member State of the European Union and, where relevant, includes a contracting party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2 May 1992 (as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17 March 1993), as amended;
	‘MIBI’ means the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland;
	‘MIIC Fund’ has the meaning given to it by section 3D(1);
	‘percentage rate’ shall be construed in accordance with section 3F(4);
	‘State Claims Agency’ means the National Treasury Management Agency when performing the functions conferred on it by this Act;
	‘vehicle insurer’ means an insurer, or an insurer authorised in another Member State, issuing policies covering risk in the State classified under class 10 in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the European Union (Insurance and Reinsurance) Regulations 2015 ( S.I. No. 485 of 2015 );”.
		Amendment of section 2 of Act of 1964 (Insurance Compensation Fund)
9. Section 2 of the Act of 1964 is amended—
	(a) by substituting the following for subsection (2):
	“(2) The Fund shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be maintained and administered under the control of the Bank.”,
	(b) by substituting the following for subsection (3):
	“(3) Subject to subsection (9), the Bank may borrow for the Fund and, for the purpose of giving security with respect to such borrowing, may charge investments of the Fund.”,
	(c) in subsection (3A) by substituting “Subject to subsection (9), the Bank” for “The Accountant”,
	(d) in subsection (4) by substituting “Subject to subsection (9), the Bank” for “The Accountant”,
	(e) by deleting subsection (5),
	(f) in subsection (6)—
	(i) by substituting the following for paragraph (a):
	“(a) any sums paid under section 3E(5), 5 or 6,”,
	(ii) by deleting paragraph (e),
	(iii) in paragraph (f)—
	(I) by substituting “3B(2)(b)” for “3B(2)(c)”, and
	(II) by substituting “Bank” for “Accountant”,
	and
	(iv) in paragraph (g) by substituting “Bank” for “Accountant”,
	(g) in subsection (7) by substituting the following for paragraph (a):
	“(a) sums to meet the expenses incurred—
	(i) by the Bank in performing its functions under this Act in respect of the maintenance and administration of the Fund, and
	(ii) by the State Claims Agency in performing its functions under this Act,”,
	(h) by substituting the following for subsection (8):
	“(8) (a) The Bank shall, in respect of each financial year, cause to be kept proper and usual accounts of moneys paid into or out of the Fund and shall, not later than 6 months after the end of the financial year to which the accounts relate, cause to be furnished to the Minister...