General

1. --(1) “Policy” includes any contract of insurance whether or not embodied in or evidenced by an instrument in the form of a policy, and references to issuing a policy shall be construed accordingly.

(2) References to a policy of an insurer include any policy in respect of which the insurer is under any liability, whether the policies were issued by the insurer or the liability was transferred to the insurer from another.

2. --(1) Subject to this paragraph and section 16 (3) and (4) of the Act, “Singapore policy” in relation to any insurer, means a policy issued in the course of the insurer’s business in Singapore and falling within one of the following descriptions:

(a) a life policy or personal accident policy in the case of which, at the date of issue of the policy and (if the policy was issued before then) at the date of the establishment of the insurer’s register of Singapore policies, the policy owner’s address is or was an address in Singapore;

(b) in relation to direct general insurance (other than personal accident policies) and facultative general reinsurance, a policy in the case of which the risk arises in Singapore or where the insured is a person resident in Singapore or is a permanent establishment in Singapore; and

(c) in relation to treaty general reinsurance, a policy in the case of which more than 25% of the total risks in terms of gross premiums arises in Singapore.

(2) “Offshore policy”, in relation to any insurer, means any policy, other than a Singapore policy, issued in the course of the insurer’s business in Singapore.

(3) For the purposes of this paragraph —

(a) any policy belonging to the insurer’s life business shall be deemed to be a life policy, and not to be a policy of any other description;

(b) “policy owner’s address” means the address for the time being known to the insurer as the address (or normal address) for communicating with the policy owner about the policy;

(c) “resident in Singapore” and “permanent establishment” have the same meanings as in the Income Tax Act (Cap. 134); and

(d) where any risk is in transit in Singapore it shall be deemed to be a risk outside Singapore.

(4) Sub-paragraph (1) (a) shall apply to a policy of reinsurance as if the references to the date of issue of the policy and to the policy owner’s address referred to those of the policy under which the liability reinsured ultimately arises.

3. “Policy owner” means, where a policy has been assigned, the assignee for the time being and, where they are entitled as against the insurer to the benefit of the policy, the personal representatives of a deceased policy owner.

4. “Policy moneys” includes any benefit, pecuniary or not, which is secured by a policy, and “pay” and other expressions, where used in relation to policy moneys, shall be construed accordingly.

Definitions related to life business

5. “Life policy” means any policy by which payment of policy moneys is insured on death (otherwise than by way of insurance against personal accident, disease or sickness only) or on the happening of any contingency dependent on the termination or continuance of human life, and includes a policy which is subject to payment of premiums for a term dependent on the termination or continuance of human life and a policy securing the grant of an annuity for such a term.

6. “Participating policy” means a life policy conferring any right to share in the profits or surplus arising from the business of the insurer or any part of it, and “non-participating policy”' means a life policy not conferring any such right.

Definitions related to general business

7. “Marine, aviation or transit insurance policy” means a policy of insurance —

(a) upon vessels or aircraft, or upon the machinery, tackle, furniture or equipment of vessels or aircraft;

(b) upon goods, merchandise or property of any description whatever on board vessels or aircraft;

(c) upon the freight of, or any other interest in or relating to, vessels or aircraft;

(d) against damage arising out of or in connection with the use of vessels or aircraft, including third-party risks;

(e) against risks incidental to the construction, repair or docking of vessels, including third-party risks; or

(f) against transit risks (whether the transit is by sea, inland water, land or air, or partly one and partly another) including risks incidental to the transit insured from the commencement of the transit to the ultimate destination covered by the insurance.

8. “Personal accident policy” means a policy of insurance upon the happening of personal accidents, whether fatal or not, disease or sickness, or any class of personal accidents, disease or sickness.

[11/86;30/99]