Insurance Act, 2000

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Interpretation.

43A.—(1) In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires—

‘Annex II’ means Annex II to the Directive, the text of which is set out for convenience of reference in the Third Schedule (as inserted by section 12 of the Insurance Act, 2000);

‘client’ means—

(a) a person who proposes for insurance directly to an insurer or through an insurance intermediary or who requests an insurance intermediary to arrange insurance on his behalf, or

(b) a person who is a policyholder;

‘Directive’ means Council Directive No. 92/96/EEC of 10 November 1992⁽¹⁾ ;

‘surrender value’ means the monetary value of a policy of insurance where it is surrendered by the policyholder to an insurer.

(2) A word or expression that is used in this Part and is also used in the Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in this Part that it has in the Directive.

(3) In construing a provision of this Part, a court shall give to it a construction that will give effect to the Directive, and for this purpose a court shall have regard to the provisions of the Directive, including the preambles.

Provision of information pursuant to Directive (life assurance).

43B.—An insurer or an insurance intermediary shall, pursuant to the Directive, in relation to life assurance, provide to a client—

(a) before the conclusion of a policy of insurance, the information specified in Part A of Annex II, and

(b) during the term of a policy of insurance, the information specified in Part B of Annex II,

and the Minister may prescribe the form and manner in which such information is to be provided, including the form of a declaration to be signed by a client on receipt of the information and the manner and period in which the declaration is to be signed.

Language of information.

43C.—(1) The information specified in section 43B, and policies of insurance or copies thereof, shall, subject to section 108 of the Insurance Act, 1936 , be provided in the English language.

(2) Where the law applicable to the policy of insurance is the law of another Member State of the European Communities, the client may request that the information specified in section 43B, and policies of insurance or copies thereof, be provided in the official language or languages of that Member State.

Further information to be provided (life assurance and non-life insurance).

43D.—(1) The Minister may prescribe such information as he considers appropriate (other than the information referred to in section 43B) to be provided by an insurer or insurance intermediary to a client in relation to proposals for and the marketing, sale, distribution, conclusion and issue of, policies of insurance and related matters—

(a) before the conclusion of such policies, and

(b) during the term of such policies,

which information shall be provided in such form and manner as may be prescribed by the Minister.

(2) Any regulations made under this section in relation to information about payments in respect of the sale of policies of insurance to be provided to clients of insurers and insurance intermediaries shall be such as to ensure that the requirements in the regulations regarding disclosure of the remuneration of sales employees of insurers shall, in so far as is possible, be equivalent to those regarding disclosure of the payments of commission by insurers to insurance intermediaries.

(3) Regulations made under this section may authorise the Minister to obtain from insurers and insurance intermediaries such information as he may reasonably require for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the regulations.

(4) Regulations made under this section may—

(a) include such consequential, incidental, transitional or supplementary provisions as may be considered by the Minister to be necessary or appropriate, and

(b) apply, either generally or by reference, to a specified class or classes of insurance or persons or to any other matter as may be considered by the Minister to be appropriate.

Regulations (life assurance).

43E.—(1) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of section 43D, regulations made under that subsection may provide in relation to life assurance:

(a) that any or all of the following information shall be provided by an insurer or insurance intermediary to a client before the conclusion of the policy of insurance concerned:

(i) the type of policy;

(ii) the purpose and intention of the policy;

(iii) whether the policy replaces, in whole or in part, an existing policy with the insurer concerned or any other insurer which has been or is to be cancelled or in respect of which any benefit or cover has been or is to be reduced;

(iv) where an existing policy has been or is to be cancelled or any benefit or cover has been or is to be reduced, the financial consequences, if any, for the client;

(v) a written statement that the premium includes the cost of the policy and any other amount payable, if any;

(vi) the circumstances in which a premium may be reviewed or increased and the consequences of any failure by the client to review or increase the premium;

(vii) an illustrative table which sets out the projected benefits and the surrender or maturity value of the policy and the charges, expenses and any other amount payable, if any;

(viii) the consequences for the client of surrender of a policy;

(ix) the consequences of non-payment of premiums;

(x) the consequences of failing to disclose material facts or providing incorrect information when completing a proposal for a policy;

(xi) the circumstances in which a policy may be cancelled or amended by an insurer or insurance intermediary;

(b) the form of a declaration to be signed by a client on receipt of the information prescribed under section 43D and the manner and period in which the declaration is to be signed;

(c) the form and manner of illustrations of the amounts of any projected benefits, expenses, charges or other payments payable and of illustrations of the means by which the amounts aforesaid are calculated;

(d) that in the case of a policy of insurance which acquires a surrender or projected maturity value the insurer shall, at such time or times and in such form and manner as the Minister may prescribe, provide the client with—

(i) a written statement of the current premium payable and the current surrender or maturity value, and

(ii) such further information as the insurer considers appropriate.

(2) (a) For the purposes of subsection (1)(c), the Minister, as he considers appropriate, may provide in the regulations concerned for all or any of the following:

(i) that the illustrations referred to in that provision shall be prepared in accordance with—

(I) the advice of an actuary, and

(II) any guidance notes issued bythe Society of Actuaries in Ireland for that purpose;

(ii) the form and manner and content of a declaration to be furnished by the insurer that all information requested by the actuary pursuant to his or her functions under the regulations concerned has been provided to the actuary and is accurate;

(iii) the form and manner and content of a certificate to be furnished by the actuary that the advice given by the actuary and any guidance notes issued by the Society of Actuaries in Ireland have been complied with by the insurer in relation to the illustrations concerned.

(b) In this subsection, ‘actuary’ means—

(i) where an insurance undertaking is required to have an actuary, the person appointed to act as actuary to the insurance undertaking, or

(ii) in any other case, an actuary, being a Fellow Member of the Society of Actuaries in Ireland, nominated by the insurance undertaking,

to carry out any function relating to the business of the insurance undertaking which is required by the Insurance Acts to be undertaken by an actuary.

Regulations (non-life insurance).

43F.—(1) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of section 43D, regulations made under that subsection may provide in relation to non-life insurance:

(a) that any or all of the following information shall be provided by an insurer or insurance intermediary to a client before or after the conclusion of the policy of insurance concerned:

(i) a written statement which shall specify—

(I) the amount of the premium,

(II) in the case of an insurance intermediary, the amount of the commission payment and any other amount payable to the insurance intermediary, if any, and the percentage of the premium represented by such commission payment or other amount,

(III) the amount of any discount and the percentage of the premium represented by such discount, and

(IV) the cost to the insurer of underwriting that part of the risk to be insured which relates to previous claims, if any, made by the client concerned;

(ii) where applicable, a written statement that any commission payment payable is subject to a statutory notice issued by the Minister under section 37;

(iii) the terms and conditions of the policy including restrictions or limitations;

(iv) the consequences of failing to disclose material facts or providing incorrect information when completing a proposal for a policy;

(v) particulars of any rating factor applicable and of any additional amount payable by reason of it;

(vi) details of the dispute resolution procedures, where applicable;

(vii) details, including the amount, of that part of an insurance claim required to be paid by the client, where applicable;

(viii) in the case of an instalment scheme for the payment of a premium, the amount of interest which is payable on the premium;

(ix) an explanation of the subrogation provisions of the policy, where applicable;

(x) the amount (expressed as a percentage of the premium) of any tax or levy payable by the client in respect of the policy concerned;

(b) the form of a declaration to be signed by a client on receipt of the information prescribed under section 43D and the manner and period in which the declaration is to be signed;

(c) that during the term of a policy of insurance, the insurer or insurance intermediary concerned shall provide to the client renewal notices which shall—

(i) be furnished subject to such prescribed time limits, and

(ii) include such information prescribed under section 43D,

as the Minister considers appropriate.

(2) In this section, ‘renewal notice’ means a notice in writing issued by an insurer or an insurance intermediary which requests a client to renew the policy concerned in accordance with the terms and conditions of the policy, of any endorsements to the policy and of the notice.

Obligations (information to certain trustees).

43FF.—The Minister may by regulations provide for the giving by insurers to trustees of occupational pension schemes of such information as they may reasonably request for the purpose of their compliance with the provisions of the Pensions Act, 1990 .

Offences.

43G.—A person who—

(a) contravenes a provision of regulations made under this Part, or

(b) makes a false representation in relation to the matters specified in those regulations, knowing or having reason to believe that the representation is false,

shall be guilty of an offence.”.