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2. Interpretation

In this Act—

“actuary” means—

(a) a Fellow by examination of the Institute of Actuaries in England, of the Faculty of Actuaries in Scotland, of the Society of Actuaries in the United States of America or an actuary possessing such other qualifications as may be approved by the Minister; or

(b) a person recognised by the Minister as having actuarial knowledge and experience;

“admissible assets” means such assets as may be prescribed to be admissible assets;

“assets” does not include goodwill;

“association of underwriters” means an association of individual underwriters organised according to the system known as Lloyd's whereby every underwriting member of a syndicate becomes liable for a separate part of the sum secured by each policy subscribed to by that syndicate, limited or proportionate to the whole sum thereby secured;

“carrying on insurance business” includes the receipt of proposals for or the issuing of policies of insurance in Saint Lucia or the collection or receipt in Saint Lucia of premiums on policies issued in Saint Lucia by an insurer or through an insurance agent or as an insurance agent but does not include—

(a) the collection or receipt in Saint Lucia of renewal premiums under a policy issued outside of Saint Lucia to a person resident outside Saint Lucia at the date of issue of the policy and who is temporarily resident in Saint Lucia; or

(b) the making of payments due under any such policy;

“Chief Executive Officer” means a person employed by an insurance company, who, subject to any directions of the directors of the company, is responsible for the conduct of the insurance business of the company;

“class of insurance business” means any class of insurance business specified in Schedule 1;

“company” means a body corporate which, whether incorporated under the Commercial Code of Saint Lucia or under any other law is registered under that Code and carries on or proposes to carry on insurance business in Saint Lucia;

“court” means a court of competent jurisdiction;

“director” means any person occupying the position of director, by whatever name called, of a company;

“financial year”, in relation to an insurer, means each period not exceeding 12 months at the end of which the balance of the accounts of the insurer is struck;

“foreign company” means a company which is not a local company;

“foreign insurance broker” means an insurance broker that is not a local insurance broker;

“foreign insurer” means an insurer that is not a local insurer;

“general insurance business” means any class of insurance business other than long-term insurance business;

“industrial policy” means a policy in respect of which the premiums are contracted to be paid weekly or fortnightly and are contracted to be received by means of collectors and includes—

(a) a policy which at any time was an industrial policy; and

(b) a paid-up policy, not being a policy expressed to be an ordinary policy granted in lieu of an industrial policy or of a policy referred to in paragraph (a);

“insurance agent” means any individual, firm or company appointed by an insurer or an insurance agent to solicit applications for insurance or negotiate insurance on its behalf and if authorised to do so by the insurer, to effectuate and countersign insurance contracts but does not include an individual who is an employee of the insurer;

“insurance broker” means any individual who or any firm or company which for compensation as an independent contractor in any manner solicits, negotiates or procures insurance or the renewal or continuance of it on behalf of existing or prospective policy holders;

“insurance business” means the business of the undertaking of liability under policies to make good or indemnify the insured against any loss or damage including liability to pay damages or compensation contingent upon the happening of a specified event;

“insurance fund” in relation to a company means a fund maintained by a company in accordance with section 88;

“insurance salesman” means an individual who is contracted by an insurer or an insurance agent to solicit applications for insurance or negotiate insurance on behalf of an insurer, or an insurance agent but shall not include a bona fide salaried employee of an insurer, insurance agent or insurance broker who is employed at its principal office or branch of it;

“insurer” means a company carrying on insurance business and, except where otherwise stated, includes an association of underwriters;

“local company” means—

(a) a company incorporated in Saint Lucia or a member State with not less than 51% of its issued share capital held by citizens of Saint Lucia or nationals of member States; or

(b) any company incorporated in a country other than Saint Lucia, which country the Minister specifies by order published in the Gazette;

“local insurance broker” means an insurance broker that is either—

(a) an individual who is a citizen of Saint Lucia;

(b) a firm in which the partners holding the majority interest are citizens of Saint Lucia; or

“local insurer” means an insurer that is a local company or is an association of underwriters incorporated in Saint Lucia;

“local policy” means in relation to—

(a) long term insurance business, a policy issued or effected by a company registered under this Act, on the life of a person resident in Saint Lucia;

(b) property insurance business, a policy issued or effected by a company registered under this Act on property situated in Saint Lucia; and

(c) any other class of insurance business, a policy issued or effected by a company registered under this Act where the risks covered by the policy are ordinarily situated in Saint Lucia at the time the policy was issued;

“long term insurance business” includes insurance business of all or any of the following classes—

(a) ordinary long term insurance business;

(b) industrial life insurance business;

(c) in relation to any insurer, insurance business carried on by the insurer as incidental only to any of the classes of business referred to in paragraphs (a) and (b);

“member State” means a member State of the Caribbean Community or the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States listed in Schedule 6;

“Minister” means the Minister to whom responsibility for the subject of finance is assigned;

“mutual company” means a company whose capital is owned by the policy holders of that company;

“national of a member State” means a company or other legal entity constituted in a member State and which that member State regards as belonging to it, if that company or other legal entity has been formed for gainful purposes and has its registered office and central administration, and carries on substantial activity within the member State and is substantially owned and effectively controlled by a person who:

(a) is a citizen of a member State;

(b) has a connection with a member State of a kind which entitles that person to be regarded as belonging to or, if it be so expressed, as being a native or resident of that member State for the purposes of the laws of that member State relating to immigration;

and for the purposes of this definition, a company or other legal entity is:
1. (i) substantially owned if more than 50% of the equity interest in the company or entity is beneficially owned by a person mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b),
1. (ii) effectively controlled if the persons mentioned in para-graphs (a) and (b) have the power to name a majority of its directors or are otherwise legally entitled to direct its actions;

“officer” includes the Chief Executive Officer, the manager, secretary, treasurer, actuary of that body or any other person designated as an officer of a company by its articles of association, its bye-laws or any rules regulating its operation;

“paid-up value” means the reduced face amount of insurance which the insured buys with the cash surrender value;

“paid-up policy” means a policy on which no further premium payments are to be made;

“person” means any individual, firm, partnership or company;

“policy” means a valid insurance contract whatever the form in which the rights and obligations of the parties to the contract are expressed and includes a sinking fund policy, but does not include an insurance contract in which—

(a) a person or a member of a class of persons declared to be exempt from this Act by order made under section 166 assumes the obligations of the insurer; or

(b) a person assumes the obligations of an insurer in a class of insurance business declared to be exempt from this Act by order made under section 166;

“policy holder” means the person who for the time being has the legal title to the policy and includes any person to whom a policy is assigned;

“premium income” means the gross premiums less refunds collected by an insurer in Saint Lucia during its financial year;

“prescribed securities” means the securities listed in Schedule 2;

“principal office” means the office notified to the Registrar in accordance with section 17;

“principal representative” means a person appointed by a foreign company under section 17;

“Registrar” means the Registrar of Insurance designated under section 5;

“superannuation allowances” includes payment of a lump sum on retirement;

“underwriter” includes any person named in a policy as liable to pay or contribute towards the payment of the sum secured by the policy;

“underwriting liabilities”, in relation to a member of an association of underwriters, means the liabilities of the insurance business of the member calculated in accordance with formulae fixed by the governing body of the association and approved—

(a) in the case of an association constituted in Saint Lucia, by the Minister; and

(b) in the case of an association constituted in a country outside Saint Lucia, by the authority in whom is vested the administration of the law relating to associations of underwriters in that country.