PART I | 1. This Act may be cited as the Insurance Act. |
1A. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —| “accounting period”, relation to any insurer, means the period beginning from the commencement of its business in Singapore or 1st January of any year, as the case may be, and ending on 31st December of that year for which accounts relating to the insurance business carried on by the insurer in Singapore are kept and for which an insurance fund has been established under this Act, unless otherwise allowed by the Authority; |
| “actuary” means a Fellow of any prescribed professional body or institute; |
| “advocate and solicitor” means an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court or a foreign lawyer as defined in section 2(1) of the Legal Profession Act (Cap. 161); [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| “authorised reinsurer” means a reinsurer which is for the time being authorised under section 34; [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| “Authority” means the Monetary Authority of Singapore established under the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act (Cap. 186); |
| “captive insurer” means an insurer whose licence is restricted to the carrying on of insurance business which consists principally of risks of its related corporations; [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
“chief executive” —| (a) | in relation to a licensed insurer which is established or incorporated in Singapore, means any person, by whatever name described, who is in the direct employment of, or acting for or by arrangement with, the insurer, and is principally responsible for the management and conduct of the business of the insurer, including the business that its subsidiaries and overseas branches (if any) engage in; or | | (b) | in relation to a licensed insurer which is incorporated outside Singapore, means any person, by whatever name described, who is in the direct employment of, or acting for or by arrangement with, the insurer, and is principally responsible for the management and conduct of the business of the insurer in Singapore; [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
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| “company” has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Companies Act (Cap. 50); [23/2003 wef 01/01/2004] |
| “co-operative society” means a co-operative society registered under the Co-operative Societies Act (Cap. 62); [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| “corporation” has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Companies Act; [23/2003 wef 01/01/2004] |
| “direct insurance broker” means a person who is for the time being registered under section 35X in respect of insurance policies relating to general business and long-term accident and health policies, other than insurance policies relating to reinsurance business; [23/2003 wef 01/01/2004] |
| “direct insurer” means any insurer other than a reinsurer, an authorised reinsurer or a captive insurer; |
“director” —| (a) | in relation to a corporation, has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Companies Act (Cap. 50); or | | (b) | in relation to any other entity, means a person holding a position in that entity analogous to that of director of a corporation, and includes a person who acts in such capacity in relation to that entity; [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
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| “directions” includes directives and notices; [23/2003 wef 01/01/2004] |
“executive officer”, in relation to a licensed insurer, means any person, by whatever name described, who —| (a) | is in the direct employment of, or acting for or by arrangement with, the insurer; and | | (b) | is concerned with or takes part in the management of the insurer on a day-to-day basis; [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
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| “exempt financial adviser” has the same meaning as in the Financial Advisers Act (Cap. 110); |
| “financial advisory service” has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Financial Advisers Act; [23/2003 wef 01/01/2004] |
| “financial year” has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Companies Act; |
| “foreign country” means a country or territory other than Singapore; [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
“foreign insurer” means an insurer which —| (a) | is authorised under the laws of a foreign country to carry on insurance business in that foreign country; but | | (b) | is not licensed as an insurer under section 8 or authorised as a reinsurer under section 34; [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
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| “foreign insurer scheme” means any foreign insurer scheme established under section 35B; [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| “general reinsurance broker” means a person who is for the time being registered under section 35X in respect of reinsurance of liabilities under insurance policies relating to general business; |
| “guaranteed policy moneys” means the benefits that an insured policy owner is entitled to receive under his insured policy under section 54(2) or (3), as the case may be, of the Deposit Insurance and Policy Owners’ Protection Schemes Act 2011; [16/2011 wef 01/05/2011] |
“insurance agent” means —| (a) | a person who, as an agent for one or more insurers (which may include a foreign insurer carrying on insurance business in Singapore under a foreign insurer scheme), is or has been carrying on the business of —| (i) | receiving proposals for, or issuing, policies in Singapore; | | (ii) | collecting or receiving premiums on policies in Singapore; or | | (iii) | arranging contracts of insurance in Singapore; or |
| | (b) | a person who acts for, or by arrangement with, a person referred to in paragraph (a) in the performance of all or any of the activities carried out by the person referred to in paragraph (a), |
| but does not include such persons or class of persons as the Authority may prescribe; |
[Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
“insurance broker” means —| (a) | a person who is or has been carrying on the business of —| (i) | receiving proposals for, or issuing, policies in Singapore; | | (ii) | collecting or receiving premiums on policies in Singapore; or | | (iii) | arranging contracts of insurance in Singapore, |
| as an agent for insureds or intending insureds in respect of — |
| (A) | policies relating to general business and long-term accident and health policies, other than policies relating to reinsurance business; or | | (B) | reinsurance of liabilities under policies relating to life business or general business; or |
| | (b) | a person who acts for, or by arrangement with, a person referred to in paragraph (a) in the performance of all or any of the activities carried out by the person referred to in paragraph (a), |
| but does not include such persons or class of persons as the Authority may prescribe; |
[Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
“insurance business in Singapore” means the business of assuming risk or undertaking liability in Singapore under policies, and of —| (a) | receiving proposals for policies in Singapore; | | (b) | issuing policies in Singapore; or | | (c) | collecting or receiving premiums on policies in Singapore, |
| but does not include such businesses or activities, such class of businesses or activities, or such businesses or activities carried on by such persons or class of persons, as the Authority may prescribe; |
[Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| “insurance intermediary” means a person who, as an agent for one or more insurers or as an agent for insureds or intending insureds, arranges contracts of insurance in Singapore, and includes an insurance agent or an insurance broker; [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| “insured” includes reinsured and “insurer” includes reinsurer; |
| “licensed financial adviser” means a holder of a financial adviser’s licence under the Financial Advisers Act; |
| “licensed insurer” means an insurer which is for the time being licensed under section 8; [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| “life reinsurance broker” means a person who is for the time being registered under section 35X in respect of reinsurance of liabilities under insurance policies relating to life business; |
| “limited liability partnership” has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005; [5/2005 wef 11/04/2005] |
| “marine mutual insurance business” means the business of providing the insurance of liabilities under insurance policies on the basis of mutual insurance (within the meaning of section 85 of the Marine Insurance Act (Cap. 387)) on such risk or risks as may be prescribed; [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| “marine mutual insurer” means an insurer that is a direct insurer licensed to carry on general business and that is permitted under the licence to carry on marine mutual insurance business only; [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| “partner” and “manager”, in relation to a limited liability partnership, have the respective meanings assigned to them in section 2(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005; [5/2005 wef 11/04/2005] |
| “PPF Agency” means the deposit insurance and policy owners’ protection fund agency constituted under section 56 of the Deposit Insurance and Policy Owners’ Protection Schemes Act 2011; [16/2011 wef 01/05/2011] |
| “PPF Funds” means the Policy Owners’ Protection Life Fund and the Policy Owners’ Protection General Fund established under section 34 of the Deposit Insurance and Policy Owners’ Protection Schemes Act 2011; [16/2011 wef 01/05/2011] |
| [Deleted by Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| “registered insurance broker” means an insurance broker who is for the time being registered under section 35X; |
| “reinsurer” means an insurer whose licence is restricted to the carrying on of reinsurance business; [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| “related corporation” has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Companies Act (Cap. 50); [23/2003 wef 01/01/2004] |
| “representative”, in relation to a licensed financial adviser or exempt financial adviser, has the same meaning as in the Financial Advisers Act (Cap. 110); |
| [Deleted by Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| “statutory balance-sheet” and “statutory valuation” mean respectively a balance-sheet lodged with the Authority in order to comply with section 36, and a valuation of which the results are shown in a valuation balance-sheet lodged with it on an actuarial investigation made in order to comply with section 37(1); [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| “subsidiary” has the same meaning as in section 5 of the Companies Act; [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| “substantial shareholder” has the same meaning as in section 81 of the Companies Act; [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| “voting share” has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Companies Act. [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
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| Classification of insurance business and construction of references to matters connected with insurance |
2.—(1) For the purposes of this Act, insurance business shall be divided into 2 classes —| (a) | life business, which means all insurance business concerned with life policies, long-term accident and health policies, or both; and [23/2003 wef 01/01/2004] | | (b) | general business, that is to say, all insurance business which is not life business, and shall include the effecting and carrying out by any person, not being a person licensed, approved, designated or otherwise regulated under the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act (Cap. 186), Banking Act (Cap. 19), Finance Companies Act (Cap. 108) or Securities and Futures Act (Cap. 289); of contracts for fidelity bonds, performance bonds, administration bonds, bail bonds or customs bonds or similar contracts of guarantee, being contracts effected by way of business (and not merely incidental to some other business carried on by the person effecting them) in return for the payment of one or more premiums. [32/93; 41/2001] [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| (2) For the purposes of this Act, the reinsurance of liabilities under insurance policies by a licensed insurer or an authorised reinsurer shall be treated as insurance business of the class and type to which the nature of the risk assumed or liabilities undertaken by that licensed insurer or authorised reinsurer relates. [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| (3) Notwithstanding anything in subsections (1) and (2), if the Authority is satisfied that any part of an insurer’s business which belongs to a particular class or type of insurance business ought in the insurer’s case to be treated as belonging to another class or type, the Authority may direct that it shall be so treated for the purposes of this Act. [11/86] |
| (4) For the purposes of this Act, references to carrying on insurance business include the carrying it on through an agent“”. [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
| (5) For the purposes of this Act and subject to subsection (5A), “Singapore insurer” means a person who is or has been carrying on insurance business in Singapore. [11/86; 30/99] [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
(5A) A person shall not be treated as carrying on insurance business, or any class of insurance business, in Singapore if, apart from the collection or receipt of premiums in Singapore, he —| (a) | carries out all activities in relation to his reinsurance business outside Singapore; and | | (b) | does not have any commercial or physical presence in Singapore for the purpose of carrying on such reinsurance business. [23/2003 wef 01/01/2004] [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
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| (6) The operation, otherwise than for profit, of a scheme or arrangement relating to service in particular offices or employments, and having for its object or one of its objects to make provision in respect of persons serving therein against future retirement or partial retirement, or against future termination of service through death or disability, or against similar matters, shall not be treated for the purposes of this Act as carrying on the business of insurance. |
| (7) For the purposes of this Act, no society registered under the Societies Act (Cap. 311) or organisation registered under the Mutual Benefit Organisations Act (Cap. 191) shall be deemed to be an insurer, and no agent for such a society or organisation shall as such be deemed to be an insurance agent; nor shall references in this Act to a policy or contract of insurance apply to any policy or contract whereby an insurance is effected with such a society or organisation. [50/75; 41/2001] |
(8) For the purposes of this Act —| (a) | any reference to the last statutory balance-sheet or to the last statutory valuation shall be construed as referring to that last prepared or made and not superseded by the arrival of the date as at which another is to be prepared or made; and | | (b) | any reference to there being shown in a statutory balance-sheet or on a statutory valuation a surplus of assets over liabilities of an insurance fund shall be construed accordingly by reference to the form of balance-sheet or valuation balance-sheet as the Authority may prescribe or specify in directions, and to the rules to be followed under this Act and any such directions in preparing it. [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] |
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| (9) The definitions set out in the First Schedule shall have effect for the construction of references in this Act to policies of insurance, policy owners and policy moneys. |
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