Mauritius
Insurance Act
Act 21 of 2005
- Commenced on 28 September 2007
- [This is the version of this document at 30 June 2017.]
Part I – Preliminary
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Insurance Act.2. Interpretation
In this Act—"Act" includes regulations made under this Act;"actuary" means a person—(a)holding such actuarial qualifications as may be prescribed; and(b)appointed as actuary of an insurer with the approval of the Commission in terms of section 40;"advertisement" includes every form of advertising, whether in a publication or by the display of notices or by means of circulars or other documents or by an exhibition of photographs or cinematograph films or by way of sound broadcasting, television or any other electronic media;"affiliated company" means a company which—(a)stands in relation to another body corporate as a parent or subsidiary company of that body corporate; or(b)is a body corporate that is a parent or subsidiary of a body corporate referred to in paragraph (a); or(c)is, in relation to another body corporate, a member of the same group of companies by virtue of common ownership or control;"assigned capital", in relation to a foreign company incorporated outside Mauritius and having a branch in Mauritius, means capital consisting of funds transferred from abroad and such other funds as may be determined by the Commission;"associate" has the meaning assigned to it in the Second Schedule;"auditor" means a person—(a)qualified to act as auditor under the Financial Reporting Act; and(b)appointed as auditor of an insurer with the approval of the Commission in terms of section 40;"authorised agent" has the same meaning as in the Companies Act;"balance sheet date" has the same meaning as in the Companies Act;"bank" has the same meaning as in the Banking Act;"captive insurance business" means a captive insurance business of a category specified in the Schedule to the Captive Insurance Act;"category", in relation to an insurance business, means general insurance business and long term insurance business;"Chief Executive" has the same meaning as in the Financial Services Act;"claims professional" means a person referred to in section 78;"class", with reference to insurance policies, means a class of policies of such description as may be specified in the First Schedule within the long term insurance business or general insurance business, as the case may be, and includes part of a class;"Commission" means the Financial Services Commission established under the Financial Services Act;"company" and "public company" have the same meaning as in the Companies Act;"Compensation Fund" means the Insurance Industry Compensation Fund established under section 88;"conservator" means a conservator appointed under section 106;"controller" has the same meaning as in the Financial Services Act;"corporation" has the same meaning as in the Financial Services Act;"Court" means the Bankruptcy Division of the Supreme Court;"derivative" has the same meaning as in the Securities Act;"designated fund", in relation to section 18, means a fund established by a long term insurer in respect of a class of its long term insurance business or part of a class of such business;"director" has the meaning assigned to it by section 128 of the Companies Act, and includes, in the case of—(a)a foreign company, an authorised agent;(b)a partnership, the manager or a partner entitled to manage the partnership;(c)any other body, whether corporate or unincorporated, a person exercising alone or with other persons, the direction and control of the management of its business or affairs; and(d)a sole proprietorship, the individual proprietor;"Enforcement Committee" means the Enforcement Committee established under section 52 of the Financial Services Act;"established surplus" and "established deficit", in relation to section 18, mean any amount shown by an actuarial investigation to be an amount by which the assets representing a designated fund, or representing any part of such fund, exceed or, as the case may be, are less than the liabilities of the insurer attributable to that fund or that part of the fund;"external insurance business", subject to such other restrictions or limitations as may be prescribed, means insurance business which is restricted by a licence issued under section 11 to only non-Mauritian policies;"external insurer" means a corporation licensed under section 11 to carry on external insurance business;"financial crime" has the same meaning as in the Financial Services Act;"financial statements" has the same meaning as in the Companies Act;"foreign company" has the same meaning as in the Companies Act;"FSC Rules" means rules made by the Commission under section 130;"general insurance business" has the meaning assigned to it by section 4;"general insurance policy"—(a)means a policy, other than a long term insurance policy, of a class specified in Part II of the First Schedule; and(b)includes a policy which contains related or subsidiary provision within another class, and a reinsurance contract in respect of such policy;"general insurer" means an insurer conducting general insurance business;"general reinsurance treaty" means a reinsurance treaty in respect of a general insurance policy;"guidelines" has the same meaning as in the Financial Services Act;"insurance agent" means a person who, with the authority of an insurer and not being an employee of the insurer, acts on behalf of the insurer in the initiation of the insurance business, the receipt of proposals, the issue of policies, the collection of premiums, the settlement of claims or performs such other activities related to insurance as the Commission may approve;"insurance broker" means a person who arranges insurance business with insurers on behalf of prospective policy holders, or as a representative of a policy holder, and includes a reinsurance broker carrying on reinsurance brokering for an insurer;"insurance business", subject to section 4, means the business of undertaking liability, by way of insurance or reinsurance, under long term insurance policies or general insurance policies, as the case may be, and includes external insurance business and the business of a professional reinsurer;"insurance manager" means a person who carries on, or holds himself out as carrying on, the business of managing insurance business originating from outside Mauritius or from a captive insurance business, and whose activities consist of accepting an appointment from any insurer or captive insurer licensed under the Captive Insurance Act to—(a)manage any part of its business; or(b)exercise managerial functions in the insurer's business; or(c)be responsible for maintaining accounts or other records of such an insurer; andin this context, "management" includes authority to enter into contracts of insurance on behalf of the insurer under the terms of the appointment;"insurance policy" includes a contract of insurance to provide policy benefits;"insurance salesperson" means a natural person who solicits proposals for and negotiates insurance on behalf and with the authority of an insurer or an insurance agent, not being its employee or officer;"insurer" means a person carrying on a category of insurance business;"International Financial Reporting Standards" has the same meaning as in the Financial Reporting Act;"licensee" means any person licensed under this Act;"linked long term policy" means a long term insurance policy of the class described in Part I of the First Schedule;"long term insurance business" has the meaning assigned to it by section 4;"long term insurance policy" means—(a)a policy of a class specified in Part I of the First Schedule; and(b)includes a policy which contains related or subsidiary provision within another class, and a reinsurance contract in respect of such policy;"long term insurer" means an insurer licensed to carry on long term insurance business;"major contract" has the same meaning as in the Companies Act;"Mauritian policy" means an insurance policy which is issued by an insurer licensed under this Act in relation to risks situated in Mauritius;"Minister" means the Minister to whom responsibility for the subject of financial services is assigned;"non-Mauritian policy" means an insurance policy which is issued by an insurer licensed under this Act in relation to risks situated outside Mauritius;"officer"—(a)means a director, the chief executive officer, the senior manager or the chief internal auditor; and(b)includes a person, by whatever name called, holding similar position and responsibilities;"personal lines business" means general insurance business in respect of which the policy holder is a natural person;"policy benefits"—(a)means one or more sums of money, services or other benefits; and(b)includes, in the case of a long term policy, an annuity;"policy holder" means a person who enters into a contract of insurance, and includes a person entitled to be provided with or enforce the policy benefits under an insurance policy;"premium" means the consideration given or to be given in return for an undertaking to provide policy benefits under specified circumstances;"prescribed fee" means such processing fee or annual fee as may be prescribed;"professional reinsurer" means a corporation licensed under this Act to carry on only reinsurance business;"protected cell company" means a company incorporated as, or converted into, a protected cell company in accordance with the Protected Cell Companies Act;"registered person" means any person registered under this Act;"reinsurance contract" means a contract whereby an insurer reinsures the risk insured by him, or part of that risk, with another insurer or reinsurer;"reinsurance treaty" means a reinsurance arrangement in respect of an insurance policy;"reinsurer" means a person who carries on reinsurance business;"related company"—(a)has the same meaning as in the Companies Act;(b)in relation to an insurer, includes any other entity related to it in any manner provided for in section 2 (2) of the Companies Act;"relevant Acts" has the same meaning as in the Financial Services Act;"repealed Act" means the Insurance Act 1987;"resident" has the same meaning as in the Income Tax Act;"Review Panel" means the Financial Services Review Panel established under section 54 of the Financial Services Act;"risk" means a possibility that a particular event may occur during the period for which an insurance policy is operative;"risk situated in Mauritius" means—(a)in the case where the insurance relates to property and buildings, or to buildings and the contents, in so far as the contents are covered by the same insurance policy, any risk related to property situated in Mauritius;(b)in the case where the insurance relates to vehicles of any type, any risk related to any vehicles registered in Mauritius;(c)in the case where the insurance relates to travel or holiday risks, whatever the class concerned, any risk related to travel or holiday if the policy covering the risk is of a duration not exceeding one year and the policy is issued in Mauritius;(d)in the case where the insurance relates to any risk of any kind, other than a risk specified in paragraphs (a), (b) or (c), any risk of such kind if the policy holder is resident in Mauritius;"rule" means a rule made by the Commission;"share", in the case of any body corporate or unincorporated other than a company, means an interest in the capital of that body;"significant shareholder" has the meaning assigned to it by the Second Schedule;"solvency margin" means the solvency margin required under section 15;"solvency rules" means rules made by the Commission under sections 23 and 130;"special administrator" means a special administrator appointed under section 110A;"specified" means specified in rules made by the Commission;"stated capital"—(a)means such amount required as stated capital and expressed in rupee denomination or, notwithstanding the Companies Act, in any other currency approved by the Commission; and(b)includes, in the case of—(i)a foreign company, its assigned capital;(ii)a partnership, its paid-up capital;(iii)any other body, whether corporate or unincorporated, an amount corresponding to a non-distributable fund or deposit as the Commission may specify;(iv)a sole-proprietorship, a deposit or a professional indemnity insurance cover as the Commission may specify;"subsidiary" has the meaning assigned to it by sections 3 and 4 of the Companies Act;"substantial shareholder" has the same meaning as in the Companies Act;"supervisory body" means a regulatory or supervisory body having similar functions as the Commission in relation to the supervision of the insurance business or other financial services;"technical provisions" means provisions based on actuarial principles required to be made in the accounts of an insurer to meet its underwriting liabilities.[S. 2 amended by s. 3 of Act 16 of 2007 w.e.f. 28 September 2007; s. 3 of Act 6 of 2015 w.e.f. 29 April 2015; s. 20 (3) (a) of Act 32 of 2015 w.e.f. 29 January 2016; s. 28 of Act 18 of 2016 w.e.f. 7 September 2016.]3. Administration of Act
4. Classification of insurance business
5. Application of Act
6. Registers
Part II – Licensing of insurance business
7. General restrictions on insurance business
8. Restriction on composite insurance business
9. Reinsurance
10. Application for a licence as insurer
11. Grant of licence
12. Conditions of licence
13. Branches and display of licence
Part III – Solvency requirements
14. Maintenance of financially sound condition
15. Solvency margin
An insurer shall—16. Technical reserves
17. Separation of fund
18. Designated fund
19. ***
[S. 19 repealed by s. 11 of Act 16 of 2007 w.e.f. 28 September 2007.]20. Prohibitions concerning assets
21. Examination of reinsurance treaties
22. Remedial measures
23. Solvency rules
Part IV – Regulation of business of insurer
24. Stated capital and deposit
25. Shares and debentures
An insurer shall not, without the approval of the Commission or otherwise than in accordance with the conditions determined by the Commission—26. Registration of shares in name of nominee
27. Limitation on control of insurers
28. Effect of registration of shares contrary to Act
29. Furnishing of information on shareholding
30. Management of an insurer
31. Duties of directors
32. Avoiding conflict of interest
33. Requirement to abstain
34. Consequences of conflict of interest
35. Shareholder action
Where an officer of an insurer fails to disclose an interest in a major contract in accordance with section 32, the Court may, on the application of the insurer, or shareholders of the insurer in accordance with section 146 (1) (a) of the Companies Act, set aside the contract on such terms as the Court thinks fit.36. Appointment of officers
37. Fit and proper person
38. Board sub-committees
39. Internal control systems
An insurer shall maintain adequate internal control systems, commensurate with the nature and volume of its activities and various types of risks to which it is exposed, regarding—Part V – Auditors, actuaries, accounts and returns
40. Appointment of auditor and actuary
41. Notice of resignation and termination
42. Termination of appointment by Commission
43. Auditor's and actuary's duty to report
44. Auditor's report
Notwithstanding any other enactment, the auditor of an insurer shall—45. Additional duties of auditor
The Commission may require the auditor at the costs of the insurer, in addition to any other duties, to—46. Audit committee
47. Actuarial investigation
48. Separation of accounts
49. Accounts, balance sheet and other returns
50. Audit and auditor's certificate
51. Submission and publication of returns
52. Examination of returns
53. Keeping of records and registers
Part VI – Transfer and amalgamation
54. Approval required for transfer and amalgamation
55. Application for approval of transfer or amalgamation
56. Approval of transfer or amalgamation
57. Effect of approval
58. Application to Court for directions
The Commission may apply to the Court for directions in relation to any particular matter arising under a transfer or amalgamation under this Part.Part VII – Insolvency and winding up
A – General provisions
59. General provisions on winding up
60. Continuation of business by liquidator
61. Proof of claims
Where it appears to the liquidator in charge of liquidation proceedings in respect of an insurer that by reason of the insufficiency of its documents or any other circumstances, hardship would be caused if he requires strict proof of debt, he may act on such evidence as he thinks appropriate and payment of a debt made by the liquidator in good faith to any person as being the person entitled to it shall discharge the liquidator from all liabilities in respect of that debt.62. Valuation of assets and liabilities
63. Application of funds on winding up
B – Voluntary winding up
64. Voluntary winding up
65. Rights of policy holders and creditors
66. Distribution of assets
67. Insufficient assets
Where the Commission finds that the assets of an insurer whose voluntary winding up has been authorised shall not be sufficient for the full discharge of all its obligations or that completion of the voluntary winding up is unduly delayed, it may petition the Court for a winding up of the insurer under section 68 and for the appointment of a liquidator.C – Winding up by Court
68. Winding up by Court
69. Reduction of contract
Part VIII – Other insurance professionals
70. Licensing of insurance managers, insurance agents and insurance brokers
71. Obligations of an insurer in relation to insurance agents
72. Financial statements and returns by insurance managers, insurance agents and insurance brokers
73. Separate accounts for premium received
74. Obligations of insurance broker
75. Registration of insurance salespersons
76. Annual fee for insurance salespersons
77. Obligations of insurance salespersons
78. Claims professionals
Part IX – Protection of policy holders
79. Certain provisions to be void
A provision of an agreement shall be void, where the purport of the provision is that—80. Information on policies
80A. Communication to policyholders
81. Free choice of policy
82. Annual statement to certain policy holders
83. Undesirable business practice
84. Abandoned funds
85. Protection of policy holders
86. Assumption of risk by general insurer
87. Premium rate under long term policy
88. Compensation Fund
89. Contribution to Compensation Fund
90. Management of Compensation Fund
91. Prescription of claims
No claim for payment of compensation shall be made out of the Compensation Fund except where the claim is made—92. Regulations on Compensation Fund
Subject to this Act, regulations made under this Act may provide for—Part X – Inspection and investigation
93. Power of Commission to issue direction
94. Request for information
95. On site inspection
96. Investigation
97. Suspension of licence
98. Effect of suspension of licence
A suspension of licence under section 97 shall not prevent a licensee from—99. ***
[S. 99 repealed by s. 32 of Act 16 of 2007 w.e.f. 28 September 2007.]100. Power to enter premises
101. Tampering with evidence
Any person who—102. Meaning of certain words
For the purposes of this Part—Part XI – Administrator and conservator
103. ***
[S. 103 repealed by s. 34 of Act 16 of 2007 w.e.f. 28 September 2007.]104. Duties and powers of administrator
Where an administrator is appointed by the Commission pursuant to its powers under the Financial Services Act, he shall—105. ***
[S. 105 repealed by s. 36 of Act 16 of 2007 w.e.f. 28 September 2007.]106. Appointment of conservator
Where the Commission has reasonable cause to believe that—107. Duties and powers of conservator
108. Term of office and remuneration of conservator
109. Rehabilitation or reorganisation of insurer
110. Immunity of administrator, conservator and special administrator
The administrator, conservator and special administrator or any person acting on their behalf shall not be liable to any proceedings, whether civil or criminal, for, or on account of, or in respect of, an act done or statement made, or omitted to be done or made, in the bona fide performance of a function under his appointment.[S. 110 amended by s. 4 of Act 6 of 2015 w.e.f. 29 April 2015.]Part XIA – Special administrator
[Part XIA inserted by s. 5 of Act 6 of 2015 w.e.f. 29 April 2015.]110A. Appointment of special administrator
110B. Transfer of undertaking
Part XII – Termination of licence
111. Surrender of licence
112. Revocation of licence
113. Review of decision to revoke licence
A licensee who is dissatisfied with a decision to revoke its licence may apply to the Review Panel for review of the decision in accordance with section 53 (4) of the Financial Services Act.[S. 113 amended by s. 40 of Act 16 of 2007 w.e.f. 28 September 2007.]114. Effect of revocation
Part XIII – Sanctions and due process
115. ***
[S. 115 repealed by s. 42 of Act 16 of 2007 w.e.f. 28 September 2007.]116. Notification of decisions
117. ***
[S. 117 amended by s. 43A of Act 16 of 2007 w.e.f. 28 September 2007; repealed by s. 22 (b) of Act 14 of 2009 w.e.f 30 July 2009.]118. ***
[S. 118 repealed by s. 22 (b) of Act 14 of 2009 w.e.f 30 July 2009.]Part XIV – Miscellaneous
119. ***
[S. 119 repealed by s. 44 of Act 16 of 2007 w.e.f. 28 September 2007.]120. Prohibitions on use of certain words
121. Advertisement
Where any advertisement, brochure or similar document which relates to the business of a licensee or registered person, or to an insurance policy and which is being, or is to be, published by a person, is misleading or contrary to the public interest or contains an incorrect statement of fact, the Commission may by notice direct that person not to publish it or to cease publishing it or to effect the changes to it which the Commission deems fit.122. Power to extend time limit
Where the Commission is satisfied that failure by a person to comply with the provisions of this Act, the FSC Rules and guidelines within the prescribed time limit was due to a just or reasonable cause, it may, upon written application made by the person, and by notice to the person, and extend the time limit to such time and on such conditions as it may determine.[S. 122 amended by s. 45 of Act 16 of 2007 w.e.f. 28 September 2007.]123. Insurance business conducted in breach of Act
124. ***
[S. 124 repealed by s. 47 of Act 16 of 2007 w.e.f. 28 September 2007.]125. Civil liability
Where a body corporate carries on business in contravention of section 7 or 70, every officer of the body corporate who has knowledge of the fact or is concerned in the management of the body corporate shall be jointly and severally liable for the payment and discharge of every debt and liability incurred by the body corporate in so carrying on business.126. Miscellaneous offences
Any person who contravenes any provision of this Act or any FSC Rule shall commit an offence, and shall, on conviction, be liable, where no other penalty is specifically provided, to a fine of 500,000 rupees or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years.[S. 126 amended by s. 48 of Act 16 of 2007 w.e.f. 28 September 2007.]127. Jurisdiction
Notwithstanding—128. Public notice
129. Regulations
130. FSC Rules and guidelines
131. Transitional provisions
132. ***
133. Repeal and savings
134. ***
History of this document
30 June 2017 this version
Consolidation
28 September 2007
Commenced