No person to carry on insurance business unless registered or authorised by Authority
3.—(1)  Subject to the provisions of this Act, no person shall carry on any class of insurance business in Singapore as an insurer unless the person is registered by the Authority under this Act in respect of that class of business.
[11/86]
(1A)  Except for a registered insurer or a foreign insurer carrying on insurance business under a foreign insurer scheme established under section 35B, no person carrying on reinsurance business outside Singapore shall carry on the business of providing the reinsurance of liabilities under insurance policies, as a principal and as an insurer, to persons in Singapore unless —
(a)he is authorised by the Authority under section 8A to do so; or
(b)he is providing the reinsurance of liabilities under insurance policies pursuant to an arrangement which was not solicited by him but was initiated by —
(i)a registered insurer;
(ii)a registered insurance broker; or
(iii)a person exempt from registration as an insurance broker under section 35ZN(1)(a), (b), (c), (d), (e) or (ea) who has notified the Authority, in such manner as may be prescribed under section 64(1), of his commencement of insurance broking business.
[23/2003 wef 01/01/2004]
(1B)  Any person registered by the Authority under this Act to carry on insurance business as an insurer in respect of life business may carry on general business relating to short-term accident and health policies while being so registered, and —
(a)the person need not be registered as an insurer in respect of general business in order to carry on general business relating to short-term accident and health policies; and
(b)the general insurance business relating to short-term accident and health policies carried on by the person shall be treated as part of the person’s life business.
[23/2003 wef 01/01/2004]
(1C)  An insurer registered to carry on both life business and general business may treat its short-term accident and health policies as part of its life business or its general business.
[23/2003 wef 01/01/2004]
(2)  Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $75,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine of $7,500 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.
[11/86; 41/2001]
(3)  Any person who contravenes subsection (1A) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $75,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine of $7,500 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after conviction.
[23/2003 wef 01/01/2004]