Insurance Act - Singapore Statutes Online

Returns

Annual account and audit

36.—(1) A registered insurer, an authorised reinsurer or a registered insurance broker 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; 41/2001]

[23/2003 wef 01/01/2004]

(2) A registered insurer or registered insurance broker shall —

(a)	cause to be kept in Singapore such books and records as will sufficiently explain the transactions and financial position of the insurer or insurance broker, as the case may be, in Singapore and enable the insurer or insurance broker to comply with the requirements of this section and, in the case of the insurer, 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. [41/2001]

(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) A registered insurance broker shall have its accounts audited for each financial year for which statements of accounts and other statements are prepared in accordance with regulations prescribed under subsection (1).

[41/2001]

(5) A registered insurance broker shall appoint an auditor to carry out an audit of its accounts and other statements prepared in accordance with subsection (1) and where, for any reason, the auditor ceases to act for the registered insurance broker, the registered insurance broker shall, as soon as practicable thereafter, appoint another auditor.

[41/2001]

(6) No person shall act as auditor for any registered insurer or registered insurance broker 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)	in the case of a registered insurer, he has the approval of the Authority. [41/2001]

(7) 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.

(8) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or the provisions of the Companies Act (Cap. 50), the Authority may, if it is not satisfied with the performance of duties by an auditor appointed by a registered insurer or registered insurance broker —

(a)	at any time direct the registered insurer or registered insurance broker to remove the auditor; and
(b)	direct the registered insurer or registered insurance broker, as soon as practicable thereafter, to appoint another auditor,

and the registered insurer or registered insurance broker, shall comply with such direction.

[41/2001]

(9) 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 registered insurer or registered insurance broker, as the case may be;
(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 registered insurer or registered insurance broker, as the case may be, shall remunerate the auditor in respect of the discharge by him of all or any of these duties.

[41/2001]

(10) An auditor’s report made under subsection (9) shall be lodged by the insurer with the Authority together with the statements of accounts lodged under subsection (1).

[41/2001]

[23/2003 wef 01/01/2004]

(11) If an auditor, in the course of the performance of his duties as an auditor of a registered insurer or registered insurance broker, is satisfied that —

(a)

there has been a serious contravention of any provision of this Act or that an offence involving fraud or dishonesty has been committed;

(b)

serious irregularities have occurred, including irregularities that jeopardise the interests of policy owners;

(c)

in the case of a registered insurer —

(i)	where the insurer is incorporated or established in Singapore, the insurer is unable to meet its obligations; or
(ii)	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; or

(d)

in the case of a registered insurance broker, the insurance broker is unable to meet its obligations,

the auditor shall immediately report the matter in writing to the Authority.

[41/2001]

(12) 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.

(13) 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.

(14) References in this Act to documents lodged with the Authority shall not be taken to include documents required by subsection (13) to accompany documents so lodged.

(15) Where any report or statement referred to in subsection (13) 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.

[11/86]

Actuarial investigations and reports as to insurance business

37.—(1) A registered insurer shall, for each accounting period —

(a)	in respect of its life business, have an investigation made by an actuary approved by the Authority into the financial condition of that business;
(b)	in respect of its general business, have an investigation made by an actuary approved by the Authority into its liabilities in respect of insurance policies; and
(c)	lodge with the Authority such abstract of the report of the investigation referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) or both, and a certificate relating thereto, signed by the actuary who made the investigation referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) or both, together with such statements as to the business as may be prescribed under section 36(1). [23/2003 wef 01/01/2004]

(2) For the purposes of this section, the Authority may approve as an actuary any person meeting such requirements as the Authority may determine.

[41/2001]

(3) The Authority may revoke the approval of a person as an actuary under subsection (2) by serving on the insurer a notice of revocation.

[41/2001]

(4) Before revoking the approval of a person as an actuary, the Authority shall —

(a)	give the insurer notice in writing of its intention to do so; and
(b)	in the notice referred to in paragraph (a), call upon the insurer to show cause within such time as may be specified in the notice why the approval of the actuary should not be revoked. [41/2001]

(5) If the insurer referred to in subsection (4) —

(a)	fails to show cause within the time given to him to do so or within such extended period of time as the Authority may allow; or
(b)	fails to show sufficient cause,

the Authority shall give notice in writing to the insurer of the date on which the revocation of approval is to take effect.

[41/2001]

(6) Any person who is aggrieved by a decision of the Authority under subsection (3) may, within 30 days of the decision of the Authority, appeal to the Minister in writing in accordance with Part IIIB.

[41/2001]

(7) [Deleted by Act 23/2003 wef 01/01/2004]

(8) 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.

(9) If the company referred to in subsection (8) 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 insurance 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 insurance business, other than returns of which copies have previously been furnished under this subsection.

[11/86; 41/2001]

(10) References in this Act to documents lodged with the Authority shall not be taken to include documents required by subsection (9) to accompany documents so lodged.

(11) Where a registered insurer —

(a)	has an actuarial investigation made into its insurance business for which it maintains an insurance fund under this Act (whether with or without any other insurance 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.

[41/2001]

Power to require returns under section 36 or 37 to be rectified

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.

[11/86]

Additional provisions as to returns under section 36 or 37

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(13) and 37(9) 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) Any person who contravenes section 36 or 37 shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $25,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $2,500 for every day or part thereof during which the offence continues after conviction.

[41/2001]

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