Insurance Act 2015
2015 CHAPTER 4
Commentary on Sections
Part 7: General
Schedule 2: Rights of third parties against insurers: relevant insured persons
Debt relief orders in Northern Ireland
168.Paragraph 2 adds debt relief orders (“DRO”) in Northern Ireland to the list of circumstances in which an individual is a relevant person for the purposes of the 2010 Act.(28)
Administration
169.An administrator may be appointed in three ways: by the court; by the holder of a floating charge; and by the company or its directors.(29) Under the 2010 Act a company is a relevant person if it is subject to an administration order,(30) but the 1930 Acts apply if a company enters administration, irrespective of whether there is an administration order in place.(31) Paragraph 3 amends section 6 of the 2010 Act so that it includes all forms of administration under schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986 and the equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland.(32)
Transitional cases
170.Paragraph 5 inserts a new paragraph 1A into Schedule 3 to the 2010 Act. The new paragraph describes some additional categories of relevant person for the purpose of the 2010 Act. These categories will catch people who fell within the 1930 Acts but do not fall within sections 4 to 7 of the 2010 Act. As these additional cases refer back to the circumstances in which the 1930 Acts apply, new paragraph 1A(7) provides that the insured is only a relevant person if the liability was insured at the relevant time.(33)
Interpretation
171.Paragraph 6 inserts a new section 19A into the 2010 Act. The new section ensures that, subject to any contrary intention, references to enactments in the provisions of the 2010 Act specified in the new section 19A(1) are to be read as including those enactments as amended, extended or applied at any time, including in the future. That is intended to help to secure that the definition of a relevant person brings within the 2010 Act cases involving an insured person subject to a procedure described in sections 4 to 7, whenever it occurred. In particular, it is intended to help those sections to remain up to date if and when changes are made in the future to insolvency legislation and to legislation relating to bodies corporate and unincorporated bodies.
A DRO lasts for 12 months, during which creditors named in it cannot take any action to recover their money without permission from the court. At the end of the 12 months the person subject to the DRO will, provided his or her circumstances have not changed, be freed from all debts included in the DRO.
Insolvency Act 1986, schedule B1, paragraph 2.
Section 6(2)(b).
See section 1(1)(b) of the 1930 Acts.
Cf. the opening words of section 1(1) of the 1930 Acts.
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