|
Returns
Annual account and audit
Section 36. (1) A registered insurer shall prepare such statements
of account and other statements and in such form and manner as may be
prescribed and lodge them with the Authority.
[11/86]
(2) A registered insurer shall —
(a) cause to be kept in Singapore such books and records as will sufficiently
explain the transactions and financial position of the insurer in
Singapore and enable the insurer to comply with the requirements of
this section and section 37; and
(b) cause those books and records to be kept in such manner as to
enable them to be conveniently and properly audited.
[32/93]
(3) A registered insurer shall have its accounts audited for each accounting
period for which statements of account are prepared in accordance with
regulations prescribed under subsection (1).
(4) No person shall act as auditor for any registered insurer unless
—
(a) he has a place of business in Singapore;
(b) he is approved under section 9 of the Companies Act (Cap. 50)
as a company auditor for the purposes of that Act; and
(c) he has the approval of the Authority.
(5) An auditor shall not be approved by the Authority as an auditor
for registered insurers unless he is able to comply with such conditions
in relation to the discharge of his duties as may be determined by the
Authority.
(6) The Authority may impose all or any of the following duties on an
auditor:
(a) a duty to submit such additional information in relation to his
audit as the Authority considers necessary;
(b) a duty to enlarge or extend the scope of his audit of the business
and affairs of the insurer;
(c) a duty to carry out any other examination or establish any procedure
in any particular case;
(d) a duty to submit a report on any of the matters referred to in
paragraphs (b) and (c),
and the insurer shall remunerate the auditor in respect of the discharge
by him of all or any of these duties.
(7) An auditor’s report made under subsection (6) shall be lodged with
the Authority together with the statements of accounts lodged by the
insurer under subsection (1).
(8) If an auditor, in the course of the performance of his duties as
an auditor of an insurer, is satisfied that —
(a) there has been a serious breach or non-observance of the provisions
of this Act or that a criminal offence involving fraud or dishonesty
has been committed;
(b) any transaction or dispute has taken place which will have a material
effect on the solvency of any insurance fund established by the insurer
under this Act;
(c) serious irregularities have occurred, including irregularities
that jeopardise the interests of policy owners; or
(d) where the insurer is incorporated or established in Singapore,
the insurer is unable to meet its obligations,
the auditor shall immediately report the matter to the Authority.
(9) In the case of a company incorporated or established outside Singapore,
the audit required by subsection (3) need not extend beyond the business
for which an insurance fund is maintained under this Act.
(10) The documents to be lodged with the Authority under this section
for any accounting period of an insurer shall be accompanied by copies
of any report submitted to the members of the insurer with respect to
that period and (if it is not among the documents so lodged) by any
statement of accounts so submitted with respect to that period.
(11) References in this Act to documents lodged with the Authority shall
not be taken to include documents required by subsection (10) to accompany
documents so lodged.
(12) Where any report or statement referred to in subsection (10) is
in a language other than English, the copy required by that subsection
shall be in English and shall be certified to be a true translation
of the original by the translator.
[38
[11/86]
Actuarial investigations and reports as
to life business
Section 37. (1) Subject to this section, an insurer registered under
this Act in respect of life business shall, once in a period of 12 months
—
(a) have an investigation made by an actuary into the financial condition
of its life business; and
(b) lodge with the Authority such abstract of the actuary’s report
and certificate relating thereto and such statements as to that business
as are prescribed under section 36 (1).
[11/86;32/93]
(2) An investigation under subsection (1) shall be made as at the end
of each accounting period.
[11/86]
(3) In the case of a company incorporated or established outside Singapore,
the investigation required by subsection (1) need not extend beyond
the business for which an insurance fund is maintained under this Act.
(4) If the company referred to in subsection (3) is required by the
law relating to insurance in the country in which it is incorporated
or established to furnish the authority having the administration of
that law with returns as to actuarial investigations of its life business,
the documents to be lodged with the Authority under this section shall
be accompanied by certified copies of any such returns made since the
company was first registered under this Act in respect of life business,
other than returns of which copies have previously been furnished under
this subsection.
[11/86]
(5) References in this Act to documents lodged with the Authority shall
not be taken to include documents required by subsection (4) to accompany
documents so lodged.
(6) Where an insurer registered under this Act in respect of life business
—
(a) has an actuarial investigation made into the life business for
which it maintains an insurance fund under this Act (whether with
or without any other life business carried on by it); and
(b) the investigation is not made to comply with subsection (1) or
with any provision as to returns in the law relating to insurance
in a country outside Singapore, but the results of the investigation
are made public,
then the insurer shall, as to the lodging of documents with the Authority,
comply with the requirements of subsection (1) as in the case of an
investigation made under that subsection.
[39
Power to require returns under section
36 or 37 to be rectified
Section 38. (1) If it appears to the Authority that any document lodged
in accordance with section 36 or 37 —
(a) is, in any particular, unsatisfactory, incomplete, inaccurate
or misleading; or
(b) does not comply with the requirements of this Act,
the Authority may, by notice in writing, require such explanations as
it may consider necessary to be made by or on behalf of the insurer
within such time (not being less than 14 days) as is specified in the
notice.
[11/86]
(2) The Authority may, after considering the explanations referred to
in subsection (1), or if such explanations have not been given by or
on behalf of the insurer within the time specified in that subsection,
reject the document or give such directions as it may think necessary
for its variation within such time (not being less than one month) as
is specified in the directions.
[11/86]
(3) Directions given under subsection (2) with respect to any document
may require such consequential variations of any other document lodged
by the insurer under section 36 or 37 as may be specified in the directions.
(4) Where directions are given under subsection (2), any document to
which they relate shall be deemed not to have been lodged until it is
re-submitted with the variations required by the directions, but the
insurer shall be deemed to have submitted the document within the time
limited by regulations prescribed under section 36 (1) if it is re-submitted
with the required variations within the time limited by the directions.
[40
[11/86]
Additional provisions as to returns under
section 36 or 37
Section 39. (1) Any member or policy owner of an insurer shall have
a right, on applying to the insurer, to be sent by the insurer at an
address supplied by him copies of documents lodged by the insurer to
comply with section 36 or 37, and to have the copies despatched not
later than 14 days after the insurer receives the application.
[11/86]
(2) The right referred to in subsection (1) shall not extend to any
document excepted from this provision by regulations prescribed under
section 36 (1), or to a document of any other description except the
last lodged of that description.
[11/86]
(3) Any person shall have the right, on payment of the prescribed fee,
at any time during working hours of the office of the Authority, to
inspect at that office any document lodged by an insurer to comply with
section 36 or 37 and any document required by sections 36 (10) and 37
(4) to accompany the document so lodged and make a copy of the whole
or any part of it.
[11/86]
(4) The right referred to in subsection (3) shall not extend to any
document excepted from this provision by regulations prescribed under
section 36 (1), or to documents of any other description lodged more
than 10 years previously.
[11/86]
(5) In any proceedings, a certificate signed by any person appointed
by the Authority under section 50 that a document is one lodged by an
insurer to comply with section 36 or 37, or one that accompanied documents
so lodged, shall be admissible as evidence of the facts certified.
[11/86]
(6) Where an insurer fails to comply with section 36 or 37, the insurer
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a
fine not exceeding $10,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence,
to a further fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day during which the
offence continues after conviction.
[41
[11/86]
Inspections and Investigations
Inspection and investigation of affairs
of insurer
Section 40. (1) The Authority may, for the purpose of performing its
functions under this Act —
(a) inspect the books, accounts and other documents of any registered
insurer;
(b) institute an investigation into the whole or any part of the business
carried on in Singapore by the insurer; and
(c) enter any premises of the insurer at all reasonable times.
[30/99]
(2) In making an inspection or investigation under this section, the
Authority may, by notice in writing, require —
(a) the insurer, or any person having the custody thereof on behalf
of the insurer;
(b) any person who is or has at any time been or acted as a director,
actuary, auditor, officer, servant or agent of the insurer; or
(c) any past or present member or policy owner of the insurer,
to produce for its inspection, and allow it to copy the whole or any
part of any books, accounts, records or other documents of the insurer,
whether kept in Singapore or elsewhere (including documents evidencing
the insurer’s title to any assets).
(3) A requirement under subsection (2) shall extend only to documents
relating to business carried on by the insurer in Singapore, or evidencing
the insurer’s title to assets held for the purposes of any such business.
(4) Any person who refuses or fails when required to do so under subsection
(2) to produce any document in his custody shall be guilty of an offence
and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 and,
in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine of $1,000 for
every day during which the offence continues after conviction.
[42
[32/93]
Powers of Authority to issue directions
Section 41. (1) Where the Authority is satisfied that the affairs of
any insurer are being conducted in a manner likely to be detrimental
to the public interest or the interests of the policy owners or prejudicial
to the interests of the insurer, the Authority may issue such directions
to the insurer as it may consider necessary and, in particular, may
require the insurer —
(a) to take such action or recruit such management personnel as may
be necessary to enable it to conduct its business in accordance with
sound insurance principles;
(b) to remove any of its directors or any person whom the Authority
considers unfit to be associated with it;
(c) to take action as to the disposition or recovery of its assets;
(d) to take any available steps for the recovery by the insurer of
sums appearing to the Authority to have been illegally or improperly
paid;
(e) to stop renewing or issuing further policies of the class of business
to which the direction relates;
(f) to make such arrangements with respect to reinsurance as the Authority
so specifies; or
(g) to take action to make good any default under section 16, 17,
18, 19 or 20.
[22/73;11/86]
(2) The Authority may, upon representation being made to it, or on its
own motion, modify or cancel any direction issued under subsection (1)
and, in so doing, may impose such conditions as it may think fit.
[22/73;11/86]
(3) Any insurer which fails to comply with any direction made under
subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on
conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding 6 months or to both and, in the case of a continuing
offence, to a further fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day during
which the offence continues after conviction.
[43
[22/73;11/86]
Winding up
General provisions as to winding up
Section 42. (1) The persons who may petition under the Companies Act
(Cap. 50) for the winding up of the affairs of an insurer registered
under this Act, or for the continuance of the winding up of the affairs
of such an insurer subject to the supervision of the court, shall include
the Authority.
[11/86]
(2) The Authority may, in accordance with the provisions of the Companies
Act, present a petition for the winding up of an insurer registered
under this Act if the insurer has contravened or failed to comply with
any of the provisions of this Act.
[11/86]
(3) The Authority shall be a party to any proceedings under the Companies
Act relating to the winding up of the affairs of such an insurer, and
the liquidator in such a winding up shall give it such information as
he may from time to time require about the affairs of the insurer.
[11/86]
(4) For the purposes of any proceedings under the Companies Act for
the winding up of the affairs of such an insurer by the court, the contingent
and prospective liabilities of the insurer in respect of policies shall,
in determining whether it is unable to pay its debts, be estimated in
accordance with such rules as may be prescribed.
[11/86]
(5) Evidence that an insurer was insolvent at the close of the last
accounting period for which statements of account have been lodged with
the Authority under section 36 shall be evidence that the insurer continues
to be unable to pay its debts.
[11/86]
(6) If the Authority submits to the Rules Committee, established under
any written law relating to the courts, proposals for making special
provision under section 410 of the Companies Act (Cap. 50) in relation
to insurers registered under this Act or any description of such insurers,
the Committee may by rules made under that section give effect to the
proposals, either as submitted or subject to such modifications as the
Committee may think fit.
[11/86]
(7) Proposals under subsection (6), and rules made by virtue thereof,
may provide for modifying or excluding, in relation to insurers so registered,
provisions of Part X of the Companies Act requiring the holding of meetings
or otherwise relating to the procedure in a winding up.
(8) In the winding up of the affairs of an insurer registered under
this Act, section 327 (2) of the Companies Act (which applies bankruptcy
rules in the winding up of insolvent companies), shall not apply to
the valuation of liabilities in respect of policies; but in any such
winding up, whether the insurer is insolvent or not, those liabilities
shall be estimated in accordance with any prescribed rules and, as regards
matters not fixed by the rules, on a basis approved by the court.
(9) In a members’ voluntary winding up, the basis to be adopted as regards
matters not fixed by the rules may be approved by the Authority instead
of by the court.
[11/86]
(10) References in this section to an insurer registered under this
Act shall extend also to a Singapore insurer which has ceased to be
so registered but remains under any liability in respect of Singapore
policies or offshore policies.
[44
[11/86]
Special provision for insurers directed
to cease insurance business
Section 43. (1) Where the Authority gives an insurer a direction under
section 41 (1) (e) by reason of the insolvency of the fund maintained
by the insurer under this Act for either class of insurance business,
the affairs of the insurer may be wound up by the court under the Companies
Act as if it had suspended its business for a whole year or, in the
case of a winding up under Division 5 of Part X of that Act, as if it
had ceased to carry on business.
[22/73;11/86]
(2) Where the Authority gives an insurer a direction under section 41
(1) (e) but, on a petition for the affairs of the insurer to
be wound up by the court, the court is satisfied that the insurer will
be able to pay its debts in full within 12 months or such longer period
as the court thinks reasonable, the court may (if it thinks fit) order
the affairs of the insurer to be wound up only as regards the insurance
fund maintained for the class of insurance business to which the direction
relates.
[11/86]
(3) An order made under subsection (2) for a limited winding up shall
be of the same effect as an order for the affairs of the insurer to
be wound up generally, except in so far as this section otherwise provides.
(4) Where such an order is made, the powers of the liquidator shall
be exercisable only for the purpose of applying the assets of the relevant
insurance fund (including such part of the deposit as is allocated to
the insurance fund by the Authority under section 17 (13)) in discharging
the liabilities to which they are applicable, together with the costs,
charges and expenses incurred in the winding up.
[11/86]
(5) The insurer shall, from time to time, as the court may direct, make
such additions to those assets as are required to secure that they are
sufficient for the purpose or shall, if the court so directs, discharge
any of those liabilities out of other assets.
(6) In the winding up of the affairs of an insurer under such an order,
the Companies Act (Cap. 50) shall have effect subject to the following
modifications:
(a) section 250 (or, as the case may be, section 352) of that Act
and other sections so far as they relate to contributories shall not
apply;
(b) section 258 shall apply after, as it applies before, the making
of the winding-up order, and section 262 (3) of that Act shall not
apply; and
(c) sections 259, 260, 319, 329, 330 and 332 to 335 of that Act shall
not apply.
(7) Where such an order is made, the court may, at any time, on the
application of the liquidator or of any person who might petition for
the affairs of the insurer to be wound up —
(a) substitute an order for the affairs of the insurer to be wound
up generally; and
(b) give such directions as the court thinks fit as to matters in
progress under the previous order,
and, subject to any such directions, the winding up shall, for all purposes
connected with the substituted order, be deemed to have commenced at
the time of the application for that order.
[45
Co-operative societies doing insurance
business
Section 44. (1) Where a society registered under the Co-operative Societies
Act (Cap. 62) is a registered insurer, no proceedings for the dissolution
or winding up of the society shall be taken under sections 83 to 89
of that Act except with the consent of the Authority and in accordance
with such conditions, if any, as it sees fit to attach to that consent.
[11/86]
(2) Notwithstanding section 101 of the Co-operative Societies Act, any
such society which is a registered insurer shall be deemed to be an
unregistered company within the meaning of Division 5 of Part X of the
Companies Act (Cap. 50) and may be wound up by the court accordingly
under that Act.
(3) In any such winding up —
(a) the provisions of the Companies Act shall apply with the substitution
for references to the Registrar of Companies and the register under
that Act of references to the Registrar and register under the Co-operative
Societies Act; and
(b) section 89 (3), (4) and (5) of the Co-operative Societies Act
(which govern the disposal of any surplus), shall apply, subject to
any necessary modifications, as they apply where a society is wound
up under that Act.
(4) Where a society has ceased to be a registered insurer, but remains
under any liability in respect of Singapore policies or offshore policies,
this section shall apply as if the society were an insurer so registered.
[46
[11/86]
Priority of claim of policy owners
Section 45. Where a registered insurer becomes insolvent or is unable
to meet its obligations, the assets of the insurer shall, subject to
section 17 (12), be available to meet its liabilities to all policy
owners of Singapore policies and offshore policies and these liabilities
shall have priority over all unsecured liabilities of the insurer other
than preferential debts specified under section 328 (1) of the Companies
Act (Cap. 50).
[47
[11/86;30/99]
Policy Owners’ Protection Fund
Section 46. (1) The Authority shall establish and maintain in accordance
with this section and regulations prescribed, a Policy Owners’ Protection
Fund (referred to in this section as the Fund) for the purposes of indemnifying
in whole or in part, or otherwise assisting or protecting, policy owners
and others who have been or may be prejudiced in consequence of the
inability of registered insurers to meet their liabilities under life
policies and compulsory insurance policies issued by them.
[11/86]
(2) Subject to such exceptions or restrictions as may be prescribed,
the Authority shall —
(a) secure that a sum equal to —
(i) the full amount of any liability of a registered insurer in
liquidation in respect of a sum payable to any person entitled to
the benefit under the terms of any compulsory insurance policy,
being a liability arising in respect of a liability of the policy
owner which is a liability subject to compulsory insurance; and
(ii) 90% of the amount of any liability of a registered insurer
in liquidation towards a policy owner under the terms of any life
policy which was a Singapore policy or an offshore policy and not
being a contract of reinsurance,
is paid to the person or policy owner as soon as reasonably practicable
after the beginning of the liquidation; and
(b) make arrangements so far as reasonably practicable for securing
continuity of insurance for every policy owner of a registered insurer
in liquidation or in financial difficulties who is a policy owner
in respect of a life policy which was a Singapore policy or an offshore
policy and not being a contract of reinsurance, and for this purpose
the Authority may take measures to secure or facilitate the transfer
of the life business of the insurer, or part of that business, to
another registered insurer or to secure the issue by another registered
insurer to the policy owners of life policies in substitution of their
existing policies.
[11/86]
(3) For the purposes of financing the expenditure of the Fund, the Authority
may from time to time by regulations impose a levy on registered insurers
carrying on —
(a) general business in Singapore (referred to in this section as
a general business levy); and
(b) life business in Singapore (referred to in this section as a life
business levy).
[11/86]
(4) The proceeds of general business levies and life business levies
shall be paid into the Fund.
[11/86]
(5) The amounts required to be paid by any registered insurer under
general business levies or life business levies imposed under subsection
(3) in any financial year shall not exceed one per cent of any income
of the insurer for the year ending last before the beginning of that
financial year which income is liable to the general business levy or
the life business levy, as the case may be.
[11/86]
(6) The amount each registered insurer may be required to pay under
general business levies imposed in any financial year shall be calculated
by reference to the gross premium income of Singapore policies of the
insurer for the year ending last before the beginning of that financial
year in respect of general business carried on in Singapore other than
reinsurance business; and any such income is hereinafter in this section
referred to, in relation to any registered insurer, as income of the
insurer for the year in question which is income liable to the general
business levy.
[11/86]
(7) The amount each registered insurer may be required to pay under
life business levies imposed in any financial year shall be calculated
by reference to the gross premium income of the insurer for the year
ending last before the beginning of that financial year in respect of
life business carried on in Singapore other than reinsurance business;
and any such income is hereinafter in this section referred to, in relation
to any registered insurer, as income of the insurer for the year in
question which is income liable to the life business levy.
[11/86]
(8) In subsections (6) and (7), the gross premium income of a registered
insurer for any year in respect of any class of insurance business carried
on in Singapore other than reinsurance business means the gross amounts
after deducting any return of premiums recorded in the accounts of the
insurer during that year as paid or due to the insurer by way of premiums
under that class.
[11/86]
(9) Subject to subsection (10) —
(a) the proceeds of general business levies may be applied only on
expenditure incurred by the Authority under subsection (2) (a)
(i); and
(b) the proceeds of life business levies may be applied only on expenditure
incurred by the Authority under subsection (2) (a) (ii) and
(b).
[11/86]
(10) The Authority may deduct any expenditure incurred by it in performing
its functions under this section from the Fund.
[11/86]
(11) Where it appears to the Authority that any circumstances have occurred
in relation to a registered insurer incorporated outside Singapore which
are the equivalent of a registered insurer in liquidation or in financial
difficulties under the law relating to companies in force in the country
in which it is incorporated, the Authority may treat that insurer as
a registered insurer in liquidation or in financial difficulties for
the purposes of this section, and this section shall apply to that insurer
subject to such modifications as appear to the Authority to be necessary.
[11/86]
(12) Without prejudice to the generality of section 64, regulations
made under this Act may provide —
(a) for the imposition, distribution and enforcement of general business
levies and life business levies and other matters in connection with
or in relation to those levies; and
(b) for the investment of such part of the Fund as appears to the
Authority to be surplus to its requirements for the time being.
[11/86]
(13) For the purposes of this section —
(a) “compulsory insurance policy” means any policy or security which
satisfies the requirements of the Motor Vehicles (Third-Party Risks
and Compensation) Act (Cap. 189) or the Workmen’s Compensation Act
(Cap. 354);
(b) references to a registered insurer in liquidation are references
to an insurer in whose case —
(i) a resolution has been passed after 1st January 1987 in accordance
with the provisions of the Companies Act (Cap. 50) for the voluntary
winding up of the insurer, otherwise than merely for the purpose
of reconstruction of the insurer or of amalgamation with another
insurer;
(ii) without any such resolution having being passed beforehand,
an order has been made after that date for the winding up of the
insurer by the High Court under the Companies Act on a petition
presented after that date; or
(iii) an order has been made after that date for the winding up
of the insurer by the Registrar of Co-operative Societies under
section 83 of the Co-operative Societies Act (Cap. 62);
(c) references, in relation to a registered insurer in liquidation,
to the beginning of the liquidation, are references to the passing
of any such resolution or the making of any such order referred to
in paragraph (b), as the case may be; and
(d) a registered insurer, not being an insurer in liquidation, is
an insurer in financial difficulties if —
(i) a provisional liquidator has been appointed in respect of the
insurer under section 267 of the Companies Act;
(ii) it has been proved, in any proceedings on a petition for the
winding up of the insurer under the Companies Act, to be unable
to pay its debts; or
(iii) an application has been made to the High Court under section
210 of the Companies Act for the sanction of a compromise or arrangement
proposed between the insurer and its creditors or any class of them
(whether or not any of its members are also parties thereto) and
the terms of the compromise or arrangement provide for reducing
the liabilities or the benefits provided for under the insurer’s
life policies,
and the petition is presented or the application is made after that
date.
[48
[11/86]
Transfers of business
Schemes for transfer of business
Section 47. (1) The whole or part of the insurance business of a registered
insurer may be transferred to another insurer registered in respect
of the class or classes of business to be transferred, if the transfer
is effected by a scheme under this section, but shall not be transferred
except by such a scheme.
[11/86]
(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to the transfer of any insurance
business of a company incorporated or established outside Singapore,
except in so far as it relates to Singapore policies or offshore policies.
[11/86]
(3) No scheme shall transfer any insurance business of a society registered
under the Co-operative Societies Act (Cap. 62) except to another society
so registered, nor transfer to such a society any business except that
of another.
[11/86]
(4) Any registered insurer, not being a company incorporated or established
outside Singapore, shall by virtue of this section have power to make
such a transfer by a scheme under this section, and the directors shall
have authority on behalf of the insurer to arrange for and do all things
necessary to give effect to such a transfer.
(5) Subsection (4) shall apply notwithstanding the absence of the power
or authority mentioned in that subsection under the constitution of
the insurer or any limitation imposed by its constitution on its powers
or on the authority of its directors.
(6) A scheme under this section may provide for the business in question
to be transferred to a body not registered as an insurer under this
Act in respect of the relevant class of business (including a body not
yet in existence), if the scheme is so framed as to operate only in
the event of the body becoming so registered.
(7) A scheme under this section for the transfer of any insurance business
may extend to the transfer with it of any other business, not being
insurance business, where the other business is carried on by the insurer
as ancillary only to the insurance business transferred.
(8) A scheme under this section may include provision for matters incidental
to the transfer thereby effected, and provision for giving effect to
that transfer and, in particular —
(a) for any property, rights or liabilities of the transferor (including
assets comprised in a deposit under this Act or in an insurance fund)
to vest, by virtue of the scheme and without further or other assurance,
in the transferee; and
(b) for the registration by the transferee of policies transferred,
for the amounts to be included in respect of those policies in the
transferee’s insurance fund and for other matters arising under this
Act out of the transfer.
(9) A scheme under this section shall be of no effect unless confirmed
by the High Court, but may be prepared and submitted for confirmation
to the High Court by any of the insurers concerned.
(10) If so confirmed, the scheme shall have effect according to its
tenor notwithstanding anything in the preceding sections of this Act
and be binding on any person thereby affected.
[49
Confirmation of schemes
Section 48. (1) Before an application is made to the High Court for
confirmation of a scheme under section 47 —
(a) a copy of the scheme shall be lodged with the Authority together
with copies of the actuarial and other reports, if any, upon which
the scheme is founded;
(b) not earlier than one month after the copy is so lodged, notice
of the intention to make the application (containing such particulars
as are prescribed) shall be published in the Gazette and in
not less than 2 newspapers approved by the Authority; and
(c) for a period of 15 days after the publication of the notice a
copy of the scheme shall be kept at each office in Singapore of every
insurer concerned, and shall be opened to inspection by all members
and policy owners of such an insurer who are affected by the scheme.
[11/86]
(2) The Authority may cause a report on the scheme to be made by an
actuary independent of the parties to the scheme and, if it does so,
shall cause a copy of the report to be sent to each of the insurers
concerned.
[11/86;32/93]
(3) Copies of the scheme and any such report as is mentioned in subsection
(1) (a) or (2), or summaries approved by the Authority of the
scheme and any such report, shall, except in so far as the High Court
upon application made in that behalf otherwise directs, be transmitted
by the insurers concerned, at least 15 days before application is made
for confirmation of the scheme, to every policy owner affected by the
scheme.
[11/86]
(4) An application to the High Court with respect to any matter connected
with the scheme may, at any time before confirmation by the Court, be
made by the Authority or by any person who, in the opinion of the Court,
is likely to be affected by the scheme.
[11/86]
(5) The High Court may confirm the scheme without modification or subject
to modifications agreed to by the insurers concerned, or may refuse
to confirm the scheme.
(6) The insurers concerned shall be jointly and severally liable to
reimburse to the Authority any expenses incurred by the Authority under
this section in connection with any scheme or proposed scheme (subject
to any order of the High Court as to costs).
[11/86]
(7) The scheme or proposed scheme referred to in subsection (6) shall
include provision as to how that liability is, as between the insurers,
to be borne.
[50
Documents to be filed when scheme confirmed
Section 49. (1) Where, by a scheme under section 47, the insurance
business of an insurer is transferred to another, the transferee shall,
within one month after the scheme takes effect, lodge with the Authority
—
(a) statements of the assets and liabilities of each insurer concerned
as at the time immediately before the transfer, signed on behalf of
the insurer and, in the case of the transferor, indicating whether
the transfer is of the whole of the transferor’s business and, if
not, the extent to which the transferor’s assets and liabilities relate
to the business transferred;
(b) a copy of the scheme as confirmed by the High Court, and a certified
copy of the order of the Court confirming the scheme;
(c) copies of any actuarial or other reports upon which the scheme
was founded (being reports made since a copy of the scheme was lodged
under section 48 (1));
(d) a statement from an auditor of the transferee who satisfies the
conditions mentioned in section 36 (4) (a) and (b) certifying
that the assets and liabilities of the transferor relating to the
business transferred have been assumed and accounted for in the books
of the transferee; and
(e) a statutory declaration made by the chairman of directors of the
transferee, or by its principal officer in Singapore, fully setting
forth every payment made or to be made to any person on account of
the transfer, and stating that, to the best of his belief, no other
payment beyond those so set forth has been, or is to be, made on account
thereof by or with the knowledge of any insurer concerned; and in
this paragraph, references to the making of a payment include references
to the transfer of property or rights of any description.
[11/86;32/93]
(2) On the confirmation of a scheme under section 47, each of the insurers
concerned shall (unless it is an unincorporated company) file a copy
of the scheme with the Registrar of Companies or, in the case of societies
registered under the Co-operative Societies Act (Cap. 62), with the
Registrar of Co-operative Societies.
[51
|
