The Insurance Accounts Directive (Miscellaneous Insurance Undertakings) Regulations 2008

PART 1 INTRODUCTION

Citation, commencement and application

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Insurance Accounts Directive (Miscellaneous Insurance Undertakings) Regulations 2008.

(2) These Regulations come into force on 6th April 2008 and apply in relation to—

(a) insurance undertakings’ financial years beginning on or after that date, and

(b) auditors appointed in respect of those financial years.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the Companies Accounts Regulations” means the Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008(1);

“the appropriate audit authority” means—

(a)

the Secretary of State, or

(b)

if the Secretary of State has delegated functions under section 1252 of the Companies Act 2006(2) to a body whose functions include receiving the equivalent notice under section 522 or 523 of that Act, that body;

“the Authority” means the Financial Services Authority(3);

“director” includes, in the case of an undertaking which is not a company, any corresponding officer of that body;

“enactment” includes—

(a)

an enactment contained in subordinate legislation, other than these Regulations,

(b)

an enactment contained in, or in an instrument made under, an Act of the Scottish Parliament,

(c)

an enactment contained in, or in an instrument made under, Northern Ireland legislation, and

(d)

an enactment contained in, or in an instrument made under, a Measure or Act of the National Assembly for Wales;

“friendly society” has the same meaning as in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000(4);

“industrial and provident society” means a registered society within the meaning of either section 74 of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965(5) or section 101 of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1969(6);

“insurance undertaking” shall be construed in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), a body incorporated in or formed under the law of any part of the United Kingdom is an insurance undertaking for the purposes of these Regulations if it—

(a) is incorporated by or registered under any public general Act of Parliament,

(b) requires permission under Part 4 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to effect or carry out contracts of insurance without contravening the prohibition imposed by section 19 of that Act, and

(c) is not required by any enactment to prepare accounts under Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 (accounts and reports).

(3) Paragraph (2)(b) must be read with—

(a) section 22 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000,

(b) the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001(7),

(c) Schedule 2 to that Act.

(4) A body is not an insurance undertaking for the purposes of these Regulations if it—

(a) is excluded from the scope of Council Directive 73/239/EEC(8) by Article 3 of that Directive,

(b) is referred to in Article 3(2) to (6) of Directive 2002/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5th November 2002 concerning life assurance(9), or

(c) is a friendly society.

(5) Any reference in these Regulations to the accounts required by or prepared under regulation 3 are references to the annual accounts, the directors’ report and the auditor’s report required by or prepared under paragraph (1) of that regulation.

(6) Any reference in these Regulations to “financial year” in relation to an insurance undertaking means—

(a) any period in respect of which a profit and loss account, or in the case of an industrial and provident society, an annual return, of that undertaking is required to be made up by or in accordance with its constitution or by any enactment (whether that period is a year or not), or

(b) failing any such requirement, each period of 12 months beginning with 1st April.

(7) Except as otherwise provided in these Regulations, words and expressions used in the Companies Act 2006 have the same meaning in these Regulations as they have in that Act.

(1)

S.I. 2008/410.

(2)

2006 c.46.

(3)

See the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (c.8), section 1.

(4)

2000 c.8.

(5)

1965 c.12.

(6)

1969 c.24 (N.I.).

(7)

S.I. 2001/544 as amended by S.I. 2001/3544, S.I. 2002/682, S.I. 2002/1310, S.I. 2002/1776, S.I. 2002/1777, S.I. 2003/1475, S.I. 2003/1476, S.I. 2003/2822, S.I. 2004/1610, S.I. 2004/2737, S.I. 2004/3379, S.I. 2005/593, S.I. 2005/1518, S.I. 2005/2114 and S.I. 2006/1969.

(8)

O.J. L228, 16.8.1973, p.3.

(9)

O.J. L345, 19.12.2002, p.1.