This Part of this Act does not apply to any insurance company which is registered under the enactments relating to friendly societies.

Where a trade union or an employers’ association carries on insurance business, this Part of this Act does not apply to it as an insurance company if the insurance business is limited to the provision for its members of provident benefits or strike benefits.

In this subsection “trade union” and “employers’ association” have (throughout the United Kingdom) the meanings F3 respectively assigned by section 1 and section 122(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.

This Part of this Act does not apply to a member of Lloyd’s who carries on insurance business of any class provided that F4. . .the requirements set out in section 83 below and applicable to business of that class F5are complied with by or in respect of him.

This Part of this Act does not apply to a person by reason only that he carries on general business of class 14, 15, 16 F6, 17 or 18 in the course of carrying on, and for the purposes of, banking business.

This Part of this Act does not apply to an insurance company whose insurance business is restricted to general business consisting in the effecting and carrying out of contracts of such descriptions as may be prescribed, being contracts under which the benefits provided by the insurer are exclusively or primarily benefits in kind.

An insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies shall not carry on any activities, in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, otherwise than in connection with or for the purposes of its insurance business.

For the purposes of subsection (1) above any activities of an insurance company that are excluded from the definition of insurance business by section 95(c) (ii) below shall be treated as carried on in connection with its insurance business.

Every insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies shall, with respect to each financial year of the company, prepare a revenue account for the year, a balance sheet as at the end of the year and a profit and loss account for the year or, in the case of a company not trading for profit, an income and expenditure account for the year.

The contents of the documents required by subsection (1) above to be prepared shall be such as may be prescribed, but regulations may provide for enabling information required to be given by such documents to be given instead in a note thereon or statement or report annexed thereto or may require there to be given in such a note, statement or report such information in addition to that given in the documents as may be prescribed.

Regulation may, as respects such matters stated in such documents as aforesaid or in statements or reports annexed thereto as may be prescribed, require there to be given by such persons as may be prescribed and to be annexed to the documents certificates of such matters as may be prescribed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

For the purposes of any investigation to which this section applies the value of any assets and the amount of any liabilities shall be determined in accordance with any applicable valuation regulations.

The form and contents of any abstract F8. . . under this section shall be such as may be prescribed.

Every insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies shall within one month of beginning to carry on long term business appoint an actuary as an actuary to the company; and whenever an appointment under this section or any corresponding enactment previously in force comes to an end the company shall as soon as practicable make a fresh appointment.

A company making an appointment under this section shall within fourteen days serve on the F9Treasury a written notice stating that fact and the name and qualifications of the person appointed; and if an appointment under this section or any corresponding enactment previously in force comes to an end the company shall within fourteen days serve on the F9Treasury a written notice stating that fact and the name of the person concerned.

The accounts and balance sheets of every insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies shall be audited in the prescribed manner by a person of the prescribed description, and regulations made for the purposes of this section may apply to such companies F10the provisions relating to the audit of the accounts of companies under the Companies Acts, subject to such adaptations and modifications as may appear necessary or expedient.

In subsection (1) above the reference to accounts and balance sheets shall include a reference to any statement or report annexed thereto giving information authorised or required by virtue of section 17(2) above to be given in a statement or report so annexed.

If it appears to the F16Treasury that any auditor or class of auditor to whom subsection (1) above applies is not subject to satisfactory rules made or guidance issued by a professional body specifying circumstances in which matters are to be communicated to the F17Treasury or the Secretary of State as mentioned in that subsection the F16Treasury may make regulations applying to that auditor or class of auditor and specifying such circumstances; and it shall be the duty of an auditor to whom the regulations made by the F16Treasury apply to communicate a matter to F18the Treasury or, as the case may be, the Secretary of State in the circumstances specified by the regulations.

The matters to be communicated to F19the Treasury or t h e Secretary of State in accordance with any such rules or guidance or regulations may include matters relating to persons other than the company.

No regulations shall be made under subsection (2) above unless a draft of them has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

If it appears to the F20Treasurythat an auditor has failed to comply with the duty mentioned in subsection (2) above, the F20Treasury may disqualify him from being the auditor of an insurance company or any class of insurance company to which Part II of this Act applies; but the F20Treasury may remove any disqualification imposed under this subsection if satisfied that the person in question will in future comply with that duty.

An insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies shall not appoint as auditor a person disqualified under subsection (5) above.

Every account, balance sheet, abstract or statement required by sections 17, 18 and 20 above and any report of the auditor of the company made in pursuance of section 21 above shall be printed, and F21the required copies of the document shall be deposited with the F22Treasurywithin six months after the close of the period to which the account, balance sheet, abstract, statement or report relates; but if in any case it is made to appear to the F22Treasury that the circumstances are such that a longer period than six months should be allowed, the F22Treasury may extend that period by such period not exceeding three months as F23they think fit.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F25In the case of any document deposited under subsection (1) F26. . . above except an auditor’s report F27one of the printed copies, or, as the case may be, the printed copy, of the document shall be signed by such persons as may be prescribed.

F25In the caseof any auditor’s report deposited under subsection (1) above F27one of the printed copies, or, as the case may be, the printed copy, of the report shall be signed by the auditor.

The F22Treasuryshall consider the documents deposited under F28subsection (1)above, and if any such document appears to F29theTreasuryto be inaccurate or incomplete in any respect F29the Treasury shall communicate with the company with a view to the correction of any such inaccuracies and the supply of deficiencies.

There shall be deposited with every revenue account and balance sheet of a company any report on the affairs of the company submitted to the shareholders or policy holders of the company in respect of the financial year to which the account and balance sheet relate.

In this section any reference to an account or balance sheet includes a reference to any statement or report annexed thereto giving information authorised or required by virtue of subsection (2) of section 17 above to be so given and any certificate so annexed by virtue of subsection (3) of that section.

A registered society shall, in addition to depositing with the F32Treasury, as required by section 22 above, F33. . . copies of each document F34to which subsection (1) of that section applies deposit, within the time limited by virtue of that section for depositing them, a copy with the appropriate registrar in the case of a society registered in Great Britain or with the registrar in the case of a society registered in Northern Ireland, being a copy signed by the like persons as those by whom the copies deposited under that section are required to be signed.

Subsection (6) of the said section 22 shall have effect in relation to the deposit by virtue of this section of accounts and balance sheets as it has effect in relation to the deposit by virtue of that section of accounts and balance sheets.

Section 71(1) of the M1Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 (which empowers the Treasury to make regulations respecting, among other things, the inspection of documents kept by the appropriate registrar under that Act) and section 97(1) of the M2Industrial and Provident Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 (which confers corresponding powers on the Department of Commerce for Northern Ireland) shall have effect as if the reference to documents kept by the appropriate registrar under that Act of 1965 or, as the case may be, by the registrar under that Act of 1969 included a reference to documents deposited in pursuance of this section.

In this section

• “appropriate registrar” has the meaning given in section 73(1) of the said Act of 1965 and

• “registrar” has the meaning given by section 101(1) of the said Act of 1969.

Every insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies which carries on business of a class or description prescribed for the purposes of this section shall prepare, at such intervals and for such periods as may be prescribed, a statement of its business of that class or description.

The form and contents of any statement under this section shall be such as may be prescribed.

Regulations may, as respects such matters contained in a statement under this section as may be prescribed, require there to be given by such persons as may be prescribed and to be annexed to the statement certificates of such matters and in such form as may be prescribed.

Five copies of any statement made under this section (with any certificate annexed thereto in pursuance of subsection (3) above) shall be deposited by the company with the F35Treasury within such period as may be prescribed, and one of those copies shall be a copy signed by the persons required to sign copies of statements made under section 20 above which are deposited under section 22 above.

The whole or any part of any document deposited under subsection (4) above may be deposited by the F35Treasury with the registrar of companies or with the registrar of companies in Northern Ireland or with both and may be published by the F35Treasury in such ways as F36they think appropriate.

Classes or descriptions of agreements or arrangements appearing to the F37Treasury as likely to be undesirable in the interests of policy holders may be prescribed for the purposes of this section, and every insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies or subordinate company within the meaning of section 31 below of any such company which enters into an agreement or arrangement of a class or description so prescribed shall, within such period as may be prescribed, furnish the F37Treasury with a statement containing such particulars of that agreement or arrangement as may be prescribed.

Different classes or descriptions of agreements or arrangements may be prescribed for the purposes of this section in relation to companies of different classes or descriptions.

The whole or any part of any statement furnished to the F37Treasury under this section may be deposited by F38 them with the registrar of companies or with the registrar of companies in Northern Ireland or with both and may be published by the F37Treasury in such ways as F39they think appropriate.

Where the value of the assets mentioned in subsection (1) above is shown, by an investigation to which section 18 above applies or which is made in pursuance of a requirement imposed under section 42 below, to exceed the amount of the liabilities attributable to the company’s long term business the restriction imposed by that subsection shall not apply to so much of those assets as represents the excess.

Subsection (2) above shall not authorise a transfer or other application of assets by reference to an actuarial investigation at any time after the date when the abstract of the actuary’s report of the investigation has been deposited with the F41Treasury in accordance with section 22(1) above or section 42(4) below.

Nothing in subsection (1) above shall preclude an insurance company from exchanging, at fair market value, assets representing a fund maintained by the company in respect of its long term business for other assets of the company.

Money from a fund maintained by a company in respect of its long term business may not be used for the purposes of any other business of the company notwithstanding any arrangement for its subsequent repayment out of the receipts of that other business.

No insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies, and no company of which any such insurance company is a subsidiary, shall declare a dividend at any time when the value of the assets representing the fund or funds maintained by the insurance company in respect of its long term business, as determined in accordance with any applicable valuation regulations, is less than the amount of the liabilities attributable to that business as so determined.

Subject to subsections (6) and (7) below, the relevant minimum is the amount represented by the formula

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In this section

For the purposes of this section the amount of any bonus payments made in anticipation of an established surplus shall be treated as an amount allocated in respect of the next established surplus in respect of which an amount is allocated to eligible policy holders generally; and for the purposes of sub-section (2) above the amount of any surplus in respect of which such an allocation is made shall be treated as increased by the amount of any such payments.

Subsection (1) above shall not authorise the application for purposes other than those mentioned in section 29(1) above of assets representing any part of the surplus mentioned in sub-section (1)(a) above which the company has decided to carry forward unappropriated; and for the purposes of subsection (2) above the amount of any surplus shall be treated as reduced by any part thereof which the company has decided to carry forward as aforesaid.

For the purposes of subsection (1) above policy holders shall be taken to be eligible to participate in an established surplus in any case where they would be eligible to participate in a later established surplus representing it if it were carried forward unappropriated.

For the purposes of this section the value of any assets and the amount of any liabilities shall be determined in accordance with any applicable valuation regulations.

In this section—

• “company” (except in the expression

• “insurance company”) includes any body corporate;

• “equity share capital” means, in relation to a company, its issued share capital excluding any part thereof which, neither as respects dividends nor as respects capital, carries any right to participate beyond a specified amount in a distribution;

• “liability” includes a contingent liability;

• “long term assets” and

• “long term funds”, in relation to an insurance company, mean respectively assets representing the fund or funds maintained by the company in respect of its long term business and that fund or those funds;

• “the prescribed percentage” means 5 per cent. or such greater percentage as may from time to time be prescribed for the purposes of this section by regulations;

• “share” has the same meaning as in the F46Companies Act or the F47Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986;

• “son” includes step-son,

• “daughter” includes step-daughter, and

• F48 “minor”, in relation to Scotland, includes pupil and, (without prejudice to section 39(6) of the M3Adoption Act 1976 and section 39(4) of the M4Adoption (Scotland) Act 1978) in relation to Northern Ireland,

• “son” includes step-son and adopted son and

• “daughter” includes step-daughter and adopted daughter.

This section shall not be construed as making any transaction unenforceable as between the parties thereto or as otherwise making unenforceable any rights or liabilities in respect of property.

An insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies which carries on long term business in the United Kingdom shall secure that adequate arrangements are in force for securing that transactions affecting assets of the company (other than transactions outside its control) do not operate unfairly between the section 28 fund or funds and the other assets of the company or, in a case where the company has more than one identified fund, between those funds.

In this section—

• “the section 28 fund or funds” means the assets representing the fund or funds maintained by the company under section 28(1)(b) above; and

• “identified fund”, in relation to a company, means assets representing the company’s receipts from a particular part of its long term business which can be identified as such by virtue of accounting or other records by the company.

In applying subsection (5) above, the amount of the company’s liabilities shall be taken to be increased by the amount of any reserve maintained under section 34A below.

An insurance company that has submitted a scheme to the F59Treasury under subsection (1) above shall propose modifications to the scheme (or the scheme as previously modified) if the F59TreasuryF61consider it inadequate, and shall give effect to any scheme accepted by F62the Treasury as adequate.

Where a company is required by virtue of section 32(6) above to maintain separate margins in respect of long term and general business, subsection (1) above shall have effect as if any reference to the margin of solvency, the United Kingdom margin of solvency or the F58EEA margin of solvency of the company were a reference to the margin in respect of either of the two kinds of business.

In the case of a company that carries on in the United Kingdom both long term and general business subsection (1) above shall have effect separately in relation to the assets and liabilities of the two kinds of business.

Every insurance company to which this section applies which carries on general business of a prescribed description shall maintain, in accordance with regulations made for the purposes of this section, a reserve (in this section referred to as an “equalisation reserve”) in respect of its general business of that description.

This section does not apply to an insurance company of a description prescribed for the purposes of this subsection.

Regulations may make provision for securing that, in such circumstances and to such extent as may be prescribed, the assets of an insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies are maintained in such places as may be prescribed and the nature of the assets is appropriate in relation to the currency in which the liabilities of the company are or may be required to be met.

Regulations made for the purposes specified in subsection (1) above shall not have effect in relation to the assets of F65an insurance company whose head office is in an EFTA StateF66or which is a Swiss general insurance companyso far as their value exceeds the amount of the liabilities of the business carried on by the company in the United Kingdom, that value and amount being determined in accordance with any applicable valuation regulations.

A UK company which has entered into a linked long term contract shall also secure that F68such of its liabilities under the contract in respect of linked benefits as are not covered by contracts of reinsurance are covered by assets of a description prescribed by regulations under section 78 below.

In subsection (3) above 'linked long term contract’ does not include a contract the effecting of which constitutes the carrying on of long term business of class VII(a).

A UK company shall not rely on other resources for the purposes of subsection (1) above in such a way as to jeopardise the solvency of the company in the long term.

The powers conferred on the F74Treasury by sections 38 to 45 below shall be exercisable in relation to any insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies and shall be exercisable in accordance with the following provisions of this section.

The power conferred on the F74Treasury by sub-sections (2) to (4) of section 44 below shall also be exercisable on the ground that F89the Treasury considerthe exercise of that power to be desirable in the general interests of persons who are or may become policy holders of insurance companies to which this Part of this Act applies, and references in those subsections to a company include references to any body (whether incorporated or not) which appears to the F74Treasury to be an insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies.

The powers conferred on the F74Treasury by sections 43A and 44 below shall be exercisable in respect of a UK or non-EC company to obtain information to enable F91the Treasury to perform their functions under this Act.

The power conferred on the F74Treasury by section 45 below shall not be exercisable except in a case in which F96they consider that the purpose mentioned in that section cannot be appropriately achieved by the exercise of the powers conferred by sections 38 to 44 below or by the exercise of those powers alone.

The F74Treasury shall, when exercising any power conferred by sections 38 to 45 below, state the ground on which F97they are exercising it or, if F97they are exercising it by virtue of subsection (5) above, that F97they are so exercising it; but this subsection shall not apply where the F74TreasuryF98have given notice under section 46 below of the proposed exercise of the power.

The grounds specified in subsections (2)(b) to (g) and (4) above are without prejudice to the ground specified in sub-section (2)(a) above.

A requirement under this section may be framed so as to apply only to investments which are (or, if made, would be) assets representing a fund or funds maintained by the company in respect of its long term business or so as to apply only to other investments.

The F103Treasury may direct that for the purposes of any requirement under this section the F105EC or domestic liabilities of a company, or such liabilities of any class or description, shall be taken to be the net liabilities after deducting any part of them which is reinsured.

A requirement imposed under this section may be framed so as to come into effect immediately after the day on which it is imposed or so as to come into effect after the expiration of a specified period (or such longer period as the F103Treasury may allow).

Subject to subsection (7) below, in computing the amount of any liabilities for the purposes of this section all contingent and prospective liabilities shall be taken into account but not liabilities in respect of share capital.

For the purposes of this section the value of any assets and the amount of any liabilities shall be determined in accordance with any applicable valuation regulations; and subsection (6) above shall have effect subject to any such regulations made by virtue of section 90(2) below.

The F107Treasury may, in the case of a company on which a requirement has been imposed under section 39 above or under section 31 of the M9Insurance Companies Act 1974, impose an additional requirement that the whole or a specified proportion of the assets to which the requirement under that section applies shall be held by a person approved by F108the Treasuryfor the purposes of the requirement under this section as trustee for the company.

Section 39(4) above shall apply also to a requirement under this section.

Assets of a company held by a person as trustee for a company shall be taken to be held by him in compliance with a requirement imposed under this section if, and only if, they are assets in whose case the company has given him written notice that they are to be held by him in compliance with such a requirement or they are assets into which assets in whose case the company has given him such written notice have, by any transaction or series of transactions, been transposed by him on the instructions of the company.

No assets held by a person as trustee for a company in compliance with a requirement imposed under this section shall, so long as the requirement is in force, be released except with the consent of the Treasury.

If a mortgage or charge is created by a company at a time when there is in force a requirement imposed on the company by virtue of this section, being a mortgage or charge conferring a security on any assets which are held by a person as trustee for the company in compliance with the requirement, the mortgage or charge shall, to the extent it confers such a security, be void against the liquidator and any creditor of the company.

If on the application of the F167Treasury it appears to the court that any of the grounds set out in section 37(3) above are established in relation to a UK company, the court may grant an injunction restraining, or in Scotland an interdict prohibiting, the company from disposing of or otherwise dealing with any of its assets to the value of its EC liabilities.

Where a court makes an order under subsection (1) above, it may by subsequent orders make provision for such incidental, consequential and supplementary matters as are necessary to enable the F167Treasury to perform F168their functions under this Act.

The jurisdiction conferred by this section shall be exercisable by the High Court and the Court of Session.

In this section “EC liabilities” has the same meaning as in section 39 above.

A requirement under this section may apply either to the aggregate premiums to be received as mentioned in subsection (1) above or to the aggregate of those premiums after deducting any premiums payable by the company for reinsuring the liabilities in consideration of which the first-mentioned premiums are receivable.

For the purposes of any investigation made in pursuance of a requirement under this section the value of any assets and the amount of any liabilities shall be determined in accordance with any applicable valuation regulations.

The form and contents of any abstract F114. . . made in pursuance of a requirement under this section shall be the same as for an abstract F114. . .made under section 18 above and subsection (2) of that section shall apply to an investigation made in pursuance of this section as it applies to an investigation to which subsection (1)(b) of that section relates.

F115The required copies of any abstract F116. . . made in pursuance of a requirement under this section shall be deposited by the company with the F110Treasuryon or before such date as F117they may specify, F118. . ..

Where copies of any abstract are required under subsection (4) above to be deposited with the F110Treasury, one of the copies or, as the case may be, the printed copy shall be signed by the person required to sign copies of abstracts made under section 18 above which are deposited under section 22 above.

The F120Treasury may require any documents which under section 22 above are required to be deposited with F121them by a company within the period specified in that section to be deposited with them on or before a specified date before the end of that period, being a date not earlier than three months before the end of that period and not earlier than one month after the date on which the requirement is imposed.

The F120Treasury may require any statement which under section 25 above is required to be deposited with F121them by a company within a period prescribed under that section to be deposited with F121them on or before a specified date before the end of that period.

For the purpose of exercising his powers under this section a person appointed under subsection (1) above may enter any premises occupied by a company which is being investigated by him under this section; but he shall not do so without prior notice in writing unless he has reasonable cause to believe that if such a notice were given any documents whose production could be required would be removed, tampered with or destroyed.

A person exercising powers by virtue of an appointment under this section shall, if so required, produce evidence of his authority.

A statement made by a person in compliance with a requirement imposed by virtue of this section may be used in evidence against him.

The F122Treasurymay require a company to furnish F123them, at specified times or intervals, with information about specified matters being, if F124the Treasury so require, information verified in a specified manner.

The F122Treasury may require a UK or non-EC company to furnish F128them, at a specified time, with a report by a specified person, being an actuary or accountant or other person with relevant professional skills, on any matter about which the F122TreasuryF129have required, or could require, the company to provide information under subsection (1) above.

Where by virtue of subsection (2) above the F122TreasuryF130have or a person authorised by them has power to require the production of any F126documents from any company, the F122Treasury or that person shall have the like power to require production of those F126documents from any person who appears to F131them or, as the case may be, him to be in possession of them; but where any person from whom such production is required claims a lien on F126documents produced by him, the production shall be without prejudice to the lien.

A statement made by a person in compliance with a requirement imposed by virtue of this section may be used in evidence against him.

In this section “document” includes information recorded in any form; and, in relation to information recorded otherwise than in legible form, the power to require its production includes power to require the production of a copy of the information in legible form.

This section shall apply to the Secretary of State and persons authorised by him as it applies to the Treasury and persons authorised by them; and for this purpose references in this section to the Treasury shall be construed as references to the Secretary of State.

A justice of the peace may issue a warrant under this section if satisfied on information on oath given by or on behalf of the F138Treasury, or by a person authorised to exercise powers under section 44 above, that there are reasonable grounds for believing that there are on any premises documents whose production has been required under section 44(2) to (4) above and which have not been produced in compliance with the requirement.

f in the case of a warrant under subsection (2) the justice of the peace is satisfied on information on oath that there are reasonable grounds for believing that there are also on the premises other documents relevant to the investigation, the warrant shall also authorise the actions mentioned in subsection (3) to be taken in relation to such documents.

A warrant under this section shall continue in force until the end of the period of one month beginning with the day on which it is issued.

In the application of this section to Scotland for the references to a justice of the peace substitute references to a justice of the peace or a sheriff, and for the references to information on oath substitute references to evidence on oath.

In this section “document” includes information recorded in any form.

The powers conferred by this section shall be exercisable in relation to information on oath given by or on behalf of the Secretary of State as they are exercisable in relation to information on oath given by or on behalf of the Treasury; and for this purpose the reference in subsection (2)(b) to the Treasury shall be construed as a reference to the Secretary of State.

A notice under this section shall give particulars of the ground on which the F148TreasuryF153are considering the exercise of the power or powers in question.

Where representations are made in accordance with this section the F148Treasury shall take them into consideration before exercising the power or powers in question.

A requirement imposed on a company in the exercise of any power or powers to which this section applies may be framed so as to come into effect after the expiration of a specified period (or such longer period as the F148Treasury may allow) unless before the expiration of that period the person whose fitness is in question has ceased to hold the position concerned.

The F154Treasury may rescind a requirement imposed under sections 38 to 45 above if it appears to F155themthat it is no longer necessary for the requirement to continue in force, and may from time to time vary any such requirement.

The Secretary of State may rescind a requirement imposed by him under section 44 above if it appears to him that it is no longer necessary for the requirement to continue in force, and may from time to time vary any such requirement.

No requirement imposed by virtue of subsection (5) of section 37 above shall be varied after the expiration of the period of five years mentioned in that subsection except in a manner which relaxes that requirement.

A notice served in pursuance of subsection (3) above on the registrar of companies or the registrar of companies in Northern Ireland shall be open to inspection, and a copy thereof may be procured by any person on payment of such fee as the Secretary of State or, in the case of a notice served on the registrar of companies in Northern Ireland, the Department of Commerce for Northern Ireland may direct; and every document purporting to be certified by the registrar of companies or the registrar of companies in Northern Ireland to be a copy of such a notice shall be deemed to be a copy of that notice and shall be received in evidence as if it were the original notice unless some variation between it and the original is proved.

Section 71(1) of the said Act of 1965 (which empowers the Treasury to make regulations respecting, among other things, the inspection of documents kept by the appropriate registrar under that Act) and section 97(1) of the said Act of 1969 (which confers corresponding powers on the Department of Commerce for Northern Ireland) shall have effect as if the reference to documents so kept included a reference to notices served in pursuance of subsection (3) above on the appropriate registrar or, as the case may be, on the registrar.

A requirement imposed under F159section 43A or 44(2) to (4) above shall not compel the production by any person of a document which he would in an action in the High Court or, in Scotland, in the Court of Session be entitled to refuse to produce on grounds of legal professional privilege or authorise the taking of possession of any such document which is in his possession.

F161Section 438(1) of the Companies Act (power of Secretary of State to bring civil proceedings on behalf of body corporate) shall have effect in relation to an insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies (whether or not a body corporate) as if the reference to any information or document obtained under the provisions there mentioned included a reference to any information or document obtained under this Act or any enactment repealed by this Act or by the M17Insurance Companies Act 1974.

The Secretary of State may bring civil proceedings in the name and on behalf of an insurance company to which this Part of the Act applies (whether or not a body corporate) under F162Article 431(1) of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 and that subsection shall have effect in relation to such an insurance company as if the reference to any information or document obtained under the provisions there mentioned included a reference to any information or document obtained under this Act or any enactment repealed by this Act or by the M18Insurance Companies Act 1980 and any reference to the Department of Commerce for Northern Ireland were a reference to the Secretary of State.

The Treasury may exercise the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by virtue of subsections (1) and (2) above; and sections 451A(2) and 452(1) of the Companies Act 1985 shall apply in relation to the Treasury as they apply in relation to the Secretary of State.

Where under a judgment given or decree pronounced in proceedings brought by virtue of F164section 438(1) of the Companies Act or F165Article 431(1) of the said Order of 1986 on behalf of an insurance company a sum is recovered in respect of a loss of assets representing a fund or funds maintained by the company in respect of its long term business the court shall direct that the sum shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as assets of that fund or those funds and this Act shall have effect accordingly.

Section 49 above applies, with the following adaptations, to a transfer of business to an incorporated friendly society or registered friendly society authorised under Part IV of the Friendly Societies Act 1992.

In subsection (3)(c) (service of documents), after the words “the Secretary of State" there shall be inserted the words “and on the Friendly Societies Commission".

In subsection (5) (persons entitled to be heard on petition), in paragraph (a) after the words “the Secretary of State" there shall be inserted the words “and the Friendly Societies Commission".

In subsection (6) (requirement that transferee company be authorised to carry on long term business), for the words “authorised under section 3 or 4 above" there shall be substituted the words “authorised under Part IV of the Friendly Societies Act 1992."

Where the head office of the transferee company is situated in a member State other than the United Kingdom, the court shall not make an order sanctioning the scheme unless the supervisory authorities of that member State certify that the transferee company possesses the necessary margin of solvency after taking the proposed transfer into account.

Where any such order provides for the transfer of property or liabilities, that property shall, by virtue of the order, be transferred to and vest in, and those liabilities shall, by virtue of the order, be transferred to and become the liabilities of, the transferee company, and in the case of any property, if the order so directs, freed from any mortgage or charge which is by virtue of the scheme to cease to have effect.

For the purposes of any provision requiring the delivery of an instrument of transfer as a condition for the registration of a transfer of any property (including in particular section F174183(1) of the F175Companies Act, section 56(4) of the M22Finance Act 1946, F176Article 193(1) and (2) of the F177Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 and section 27(4) of the M23Finance (No. 2) Act (Nothern Ireland) 1946) an order which by virtue of this section operates to transfer any property shall be treated as an instrument of transfer.

Where a scheme is sanctioned by an order of the court under section 49 above the transferee company shall, within ten days from the date on which the order is made or such longer period as the Secretary of State may allow, deposit two office copies of the order with the Secretary of State.

In this section “property” includes property, rights and powers of every description, “liabilities” includes duties and “shares” and “debentures” have the same meaning as in the F175Companies Act or the F177Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986

Where it is proposed to execute an instrument by which an insurance company to which this Part of this Act applies (“the transferor”) is to transfer to another body (“the transferee") all its rights and obligations under such general policies, or general policies of such descriptions, as may be specified in the instrument, the transferor may apply to the Secretary of State for his approval of the transfer.

The notice referred to in subsection (2) above shall include a statement that written representations concerning the transfer may be sent to the Secretary of State before a specified day, which shall not be earlier than sixty days after the day of the first publication of the notice in accordance with paragraph (a) above; and the Secretary of State shall not determine the application until after considering any representations made to him before the specified day.

Any notice or other document authorised or required to be given or served under this section or section 52 below may, without prejudice to any other method of service, be served by post; and a letter containing the notice or other document shall be deemed to be properly addressed if it is addressed to that person at his last known residence or last known place of business in the United Kingdom.

Except in so far as the Secretary of State may otherwise direct, a policy holder whose policy is included in such an instrument shall not be bound by it unless he has been given written notice of its execution by the transferor or the transferee.

In this section “general policy” means a policy evidencing a contract the effecting of which constituted the carrying on of general business, other than reinsurance; F192'long term policy’ means a policy evidencing a contract the effecting of which constitutes the carrying on of long term business, other than reinsurance.

Directions under this section may make different provision for different cases or descriptions of case.

A policy which evidences a contract of F196. . . insurance is a UK policy for the purposes of this section if the law applicable to it is the law of any part of the United Kingdom.