Insurance Act 1966 - Singapore Statutes Online

FIRST SCHEDULE

Sections 3(10), 83(4) and 153(1)

Definition of insurance terms

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 are to 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 15(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)

in relation to a life policy or accident and health policy (not being a reinsurance policy) —

(i)

where the policy owner is an individual, the policy owner or insured is ordinarily resident in Singapore at the date of the proposal in respect of the policy (called in this paragraph the proposal date);

(ii)

where the policy owner is not an individual —

(A)	the policy owner’s address is or was an address in Singapore at the date of the issue of the policy and at the date of the establishment of the insurer’s register of Singapore policies (if the policy was issued before then); or
(B)	the policy covers an insured who is ordinarily resident in Singapore at the proposal date;

(b)

in relation to direct general insurance (other than short-term accident and health policies), a policy where the risk arises in Singapore or —

(i)	where the insured is an individual, the insured is ordinarily resident in Singapore; or
(ii)	where the insured is not an individual, the insured is a person resident in Singapore or has a permanent establishment in Singapore;

(c)

in relation to treaty general reinsurance (other than short-term accident and health policies), a policy where more than 25% of the total risks in terms of gross premiums arise in Singapore; and

(d)

in relation to treaty life reinsurance or treaty accident and health reinsurance, a policy where more than 25% of the policies under which the risk or risks reinsured ultimately arises or arise in terms of gross premiums are policies referred to in sub-paragraph (a).

(2) Despite sub-paragraph (1)(b), a policy where —

(a)	the insured is an individual and the insured is ordinarily resident in Singapore; or
(b)	the insured is not an individual and the insured is a person resident in Singapore or has a permanent establishment in Singapore,

is not regarded as a Singapore policy if it is in respect of cargo transported from a place outside Singapore to a place outside Singapore, whether or not the cargo is in transit in Singapore.

(3) “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.

(4) For the purposes of this paragraph —

(a)

an individual is treated as ordinarily resident in Singapore if the individual —

(i)	is a citizen of Singapore, unless he or she has resided outside Singapore continuously for 5 or more years preceding the proposal date of the policy and is not currently residing in Singapore;
(ii)	is a permanent resident, unless he or she has resided in Singapore for less than a total of 183 days in the 12 months preceding the proposal date of the policy;
(iii)	has a work pass or permit required under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act 1990, unless he or she has resided in Singapore for less than a total of 183 days in the 12 months preceding the proposal date of the policy; or
(iv)	has a pass or permit required under the Immigration Act 1959 that has a duration longer than 90 days and has resided in Singapore continuously for at least 90 days in the 12 months preceding the proposal date of the policy;

(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 meanings given by the Income Tax Act 1947;

(d)

“permanent resident” means any individual who is not subject to any restriction as to his or her period of residence in Singapore imposed under the provisions of any written law relating to immigration for the time being in force;

(e)

where an individual is present in Singapore for any part of a day, his or her presence on that day is counted as one day.

(5) Sub-paragraph (1)(a) applies to a life or accident and health policy of facultative reinsurance —

(a)	where the owner of the policy under which the liability reinsured ultimately arises is an individual, as if the references to the proposal date and to whether the policy owner or insured is ordinarily resident in Singapore are references to those of the policy under which the liability reinsured ultimately arises; and
(b)	where the owner of the policy under which the liability reinsured ultimately arises is not an individual, as if the references to the date of issue and proposal date of the policy, to the policy owner’s address and to whether the insured is ordinarily resident in Singapore are references to those of the policy under which the liability reinsured ultimately arises.

(6) Sub-paragraph (1)(b) applies to a policy of facultative general reinsurance as if the references to the insured are references to the person or persons insured by the policy under which the liability reinsured ultimately arises.

3. “Child” means a legitimate child, an illegitimate child, a stepchild or a child adopted in accordance with any written law relating to the adopting of children.

4. “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.

5. “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, are to be construed accordingly.

6. “Accident and health benefits” means policy moneys which are paid out —

(a)	in the event of an injury to, or a disability of, the insured as a result of accident or sickness;
(b)	in the event of the insured being found to have a condition or disease stated in the policy of the insured;
(c)	with respect to health services;
(d)	on the death, by accident or some other cause stated in the policy, of the insured; or
(e)	on the happening of a combination of any of the above,

but does not include policy moneys that are payable with respect to any loss arising out of a liability to pay compensation or damages.

7. “Health services” means —

(a)	medical, surgical, diagnostic, nursing, dental, chiropody or chiropractic services, or eye therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech therapy, or other similar services or treatment;
(b)	services involving the supply, alteration, maintenance or repair of hearing aids, spectacles, contact lenses, artificial teeth, eyes or limbs (including parts of teeth or limbs) or other medical, surgical, prosthetic or dental aids, equipment or appliances;
(c)	the provision of drugs or medicinal preparations;
(d)	ambulance or paramedic services; or
(e)	professional services provided for the treatment or management of a person who is sick or disabled.

8. “Accident and health policy” means any policy which provides accident and health benefits only.

9.—(1) “Long-term accident and health policy” means any accident and health policy that —

(a)	may, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the policy, be in force for more than 5 years if it is not terminated earlier by the policy owner; and
(b)	does not contain any term or condition which permits the insurer to terminate the policy unilaterally, other than termination on the ground of fraud or material non-disclosure.

(2) An accident and health policy that is of a duration of 5 years or less but satisfies sub-paragraph (1)(b) is considered a long-term accident and health policy if the policy is of a duration of 5 years or less only because of the age of the insured at the time when it was entered into.

(3) Where the terms and conditions of an accident and health policy provide the insured an option of extending the duration of the policy, whether on the same terms and conditions or otherwise, the duration of the policy is determined on the assumption that the insured will exercise the option.

10. “Short-term accident and health policy” means any accident and health policy that is not a long-term accident and health policy.

11. “Death benefits” means policy moneys which are paid out on the death of the insured.

12. “Living benefits” means policy moneys which are paid out before the death of the insured.

Definitions related to life business

13.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), “life policy” means any policy which —

(a)	provides for the payment of policy moneys on the death of a person or on the happening of any contingency dependent on the termination or continuance of human life;
(b)	is subject to payment of premiums for a term dependent on the termination or continuance of human life;
(c)	provides for the payment of an annuity for a term dependent on the termination or continuance of human life; or
(d)	is a combination of any of the above.

(2) An accident and health policy that provides for the payment of policy moneys on the death of a person is not a life policy.

14. “Investment-linked policy” means any policy which provides benefits calculated by reference to units, the value of which is related to the market value of the underlying assets, and “non‑investment‑linked policy” means a policy that is not an investment‑linked policy.

15.—(1) “Participating policy” means any non-investment-linked policy conferring a right to participate in allocations by way of bonuses from policy assets of the fund established and maintained by an insurer for such a policy, and “non‑participating policy” means a non‑investment‑linked policy not conferring such a right.

(2) “Policy assets”, in relation to a fund established and maintained for participating policies, means the total assets of the fund as at valuation date held for the benefit of policyholders in that fund less —

(a)	the balance in the surplus account established and maintained in such manner as prescribed under section 16(7) of the Act; and
(b)	the amount of assets required to satisfy the liabilities described as “other liabilities” in statements of account lodged with the Authority under section 94(3) of the Act.

(3) “Valuation date”, in relation to policy assets, means the date on which the assets and liabilities of an insurer are valued.

[23/2003; 3/2009; 11/2013; S 130/2009; S 184/2010]

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