European Communities (Insurance Mediation) Regulations 2005
Statutory Instruments
Source: Statutory Instruments

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paragraphs: (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Insurance Mediation) Regulations 2005.
(2) These Regulations come into operation on 14 January 2005.
Object and scope of these regulations
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paragraphs: (1) The objective of these Regulations is to give effect to Directive 2002/92/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 December 2002 on insurance mediation.
These Regulations lay down rules for undertaking insurance mediation and reinsurance mediation by persons who undertake or wish to undertake either or both of those act
Interpretation
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paragraphs: (1) In these Regulations, except where the context otherwise requires—
“application” means an application for registration as an insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary;
“authorised officer” means a person appointed and holding office under Regulation 28;
“the Bank” means the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland;
“certificate of registration” means a certificate of registration issued to an insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary in accordance with these Regulations;
“durable medium” means anything that—
(a) enables information to be stored in a way that is accessible for future reference for a period of time adequate to the purposes of the information, and
(b) allows the unchanged reproduction of the information stored,
but does not include internet sites that do not meet the criteria set out in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this definition;
“insurance intermediary” means a person who, for remuneration, undertakes or purports to undertake insurance mediation;
“insurance mediation” means any activity involved in proposing or undertaking preparatory work for entering into insurance contracts, or of assisting in the administration and performance of insurance contracts that have been entered into (including dealing with claims under insurance contracts), but does not include such an activity that—
(a) is undertaken by an insurance undertaking or an employee of such an undertaking in the employee’s capacity as such, or
(b) involves the provision of information on an incidental basis in conjunction with some other professional activity, so long as the purpose of the activity is not to assist a person to enter into or perform an insurance contract, or
(c) involves the management of claims of an insurance undertaking on a professional basis, or
(d) involves loss adjusting or expert appraisal of claims for reinsurance undertakings;
“the Insurance Mediation Directive” means Directive 2002/92/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 December 2002 on insurance mediation;
“insurance undertaking” has the same meaning as in the Insurance Act 1989 ;
“large risks” has the meaning given by Article 3A of the European Communities (Non-Life Insurance) Regulations 1976 (S.I. 115/1976);
“Member State” means a Member State of the European Communities;
“the Minister” means the Minister for Finance;
“other Member State” means a Member State other than the State;
“record” means any record of information, however compiled, recorded or stored, and includes—
(a) any book, a register and any other document containing information and
(b) any disc, tape or other article from which information is capable of being produced in any form capable of being reproduced visually or aurally,
and also includes part of a record;
“the Register” means the Register of Insurance Mediation Intermediaries established and maintained under Regulation 25;
“registered” means registered under these Regulations or under a law of another Member State that corresponds to these Regulations;
“reinsurance intermediary” means a person who, for remuneration, undertakes or purports to undertake reinsurance mediation;
“reinsurance mediation” means any activity involved in proposing or undertaking preparatory work for entering into reinsurance contracts, or of assisting in the administration and performance of reinsurance contracts that have been entered into (including dealing with claims under reinsurance contracts), but does not include such an activity that—
(a) is undertaken by a reinsurance undertaking or an employee of such an undertaking in the employee’s capacity as such, or
(b) involves the provision of information on an incidental basis in conjunction with some other professional activity, so long as the purpose of the activity is not to assist a person to enter into or perform a reinsurance contract, or
(c) involves the management of claims of a reinsurance undertaking on a professional basis, or
(c) involves loss adjusting or expert appraisal of claims for insurance undertakings;
(d)
“reinsurance undertaking” means an undertaking, other than an insurance undertaking or an insurance undertaking based outside the European Communities, the main business of which consists of accepting risks ceded by an insurance undertaking, an insurance undertaking based outside the European Communities or any other reinsurance undertaking;
“third country” means a country that is not a Member State, and includes a state, province region or dependent territory of such a country;
“tied insurance intermediary” means any person—
(a) who undertakes insurance mediation for and on behalf of one or more insurance undertakings in the case of insurance products that are not in competition, and
(b) who acts under the direction of those undertakings;
“the 1995 Act” means the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995 (No. 11 of 1995).
(2) In these Regulations—
(a) a reference to a Part or Regulation is a reference to a Part or Regulation of these Regulations, and
(b) a reference to a paragraph or a subparagraph is a reference to the paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs,
(c) unless in either case it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.
(3) If a word or expression that is not defined in this Regulation is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Insurance Mediation Directive, the word or expression has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in that Directive.
(4) If an enactment or statutory instrument referred to in these Regulations has been amended, or is amended after these Regulations come into operation, the reference is taken to be a reference to the enactment or statutory instrument as amended.
(5) The Bank is the competent authority in the State for the purposes of the application of the Insurance Mediation Directive to the State.
Non-application of these Regulations
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paragraphs: (1) These Regulations do not—
(a) apply to or in respect of insurance and reinsurance mediation services provided in relation to risks and commitments arising in a country elsewhere than in a Member State, or
(b) apply to insurance mediation activities carried out in third countries or to activities of insurance or reinsurance undertakings, as defined in—
(i) the First Council Directive 73/239/EEC of 24 July 1973 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the taking-up and pursuit of the business of direct insurance other than life assurance, and
(ii) First Council Directive 79/267/EEC of 5 March 1979 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the taking-up and pursuit of the business of direct life assurance carried out through insurance intermediaries in third countries.
(2) These regulations do not affect the law of the State relating to insurance mediation business undertaken by insurance and reinsurance intermediaries established in a third country and operating within that State under the principle of freedom to provide services, so long as equal treatment is guaranteed to all persons carrying out or authorised to carry out insurance mediation activities in that State.
Part 2
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS
Person not to carry on insurance mediation business unless registered
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paragraphs: (1) A person shall not, in the State or in any other Member State, undertake or purport to undertake insurance mediation or reinsurance mediation, unless the person—
(a) is registered as an insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary or
(b) is exempt from registration under these Regulations.
(2) A person who contravenes paragraph (1) commits an offence.
(3) The Bank shall take all reasonably practicable measures to ensure that persons who contravene paragraph (1) cease to undertake insurance mediation or reinsurance mediation within the State and within every other Member State.
Persons who are exempt from registration
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paragraphs: (1) A person who provides a mediation service for insurance contracts is exempt from registration under these Regulations only if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(a) the contracts require only knowledge of the insurance cover that is provided under them;
(b) the contracts are not for the provision of life assurance;
(c) the insurance contracts do not cover risks for which the insurers may be liable to indemnify the insured;
(d) the person’s principal professional activity is not insurance mediation;
(e) the insurance provided is complementary—
(i) to a contract for supply of goods and cover the risk of breakdown, loss of or damage to those goods, or
(ii) to a contract for the provision of travel and cover damage to or loss of baggage and other risks linked to the travel, even if the insurance also covers life assurance or liability risks, so long as the last-mentioned cover is ancillary to the main cover for the risks linked to the travel;
(f) none of the annual premiums payable under the contracts exceeds €500 and none of the contracts (including renewals) is for a term of more than 5 years.
(2) A credit institution that immediately before the coming into operation of these Regulations was undertaking insurance mediation or reinsurance mediation is exempt from registration under these Regulations.
Application for registration as an insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary
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paragraphs: —(1) A person who wishes to be registered as an insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary shall make an application to the Bank in accordance with this Regulation.
(2) An application must—
(a) be in a form approved by the Bank, and
(b) contain such information, and be accompanied by such documents, as the Bank requires, and
(c) be accompanied by the fee (if any) prescribed under section 33K of the Central Bank Act 1942 for the purposes of this section..
(3) The Bank may, by written notice given to an applicant, require the applicant to provide such additional information and documents as are reasonably necessary to enable it to determine the application. If such a requirement is not complied with within a period specified in the notice, not less than 14 days, the Bank may reject the application.
(4) Nothing in this Regulation prevents the same person from making an application for registration as an insurance intermediary and an application for registration as a reinsurance intermediary.
Grant and refusal of applications for registration.
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paragraphs: —(1) The Bank shall register an applicant as an insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary if it is satisfied that the applicant is or will be able to undertake, in a proper manner, the responsibilities that are imposed on insurance intermediaries or reinsurance intermediaries by or under these Regulations but, if not so satisfied, it shall refuse the applicant’s application.
(2) On granting an application, the Bank shall—
(a) record the appropriate particulars of the applicant in the Register, and
(b) issue the applicant with a certificate of registration certifying as an insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary.
(3) A certificate of registration—
(a) must be in a form that will enable any interested party, by consulting the Register, to verify that the holder of the certificate is duly registered as an insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary, and
(b) whether or not any other information is included, must provide the information specified in Regulation 13(1)(a) or (b), and, in the case of a certificate issued to a body corporate, specify the name or names of the person or persons who are concerned in the direction or management of the body.
(4) The Bank may not refuse an application without giving the applicant an opportunity to make representations in writing as to why the application should not be refused.
(5) If the Bank refuses an application, it shall promptly give to the applicant a written notice of refusal, which must include a statement setting out the reasons for the refusal.
(6) If—
(a) at the end of 6 months after the date on which the Bank has received an application, or
(b) if the Bank has required the applicant to provide it with additional information or documents in relation to the application, at the end of 6 months after the receipt by it of the additional information or documents or at the end of 12 months after the date on which the Bank received the application (whichever first occurs),
the Bank has failed to inform the applicant whether or not the application has been granted the application is taken to have been granted at the end of that period.
Effect of registration
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paragraphs: (1) A registered insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary is entitled to undertake insurance mediation or reinsurance mediation in the State and in each of the other Member States subject to compliance with the requirements imposed by or under these Regulations and any restrictions imposed by law.
(2) A registered insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary is entitled to undertake insurance mediation or reinsurance mediation in each of the other Member States subject to compliance with the requirements imposed by or under the law of that other Member State that corresponds to these Regulations.
(3) The fact that the Bank has registered a person as an insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary does not of itself make the Bank liable for any financial loss incurred by a person—
(a) because the intermediary, any of its officers, employees or agents has contravened or failed to comply with a provision of these Regulations, or any condition of the intermediary’s registration, or
(b) because the intermediary has become subject to an insolvency process.
(4) The registration of an insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary remains in force until it is cancelled under this Part.
Cancellation of registration by Bank on application of insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary
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paragraphs: (1) The Bank may, if it is satisfied that it is appropriate to do so, cancel the registration of an insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary on the application of the intermediary. The application must be accompanied by the intermediary’s certificate of registration.
(2) An insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary whose registration is cancelled under this Regulation ceases to be entitled to undertake insurance or reinsurance mediation.
Cancellation of registration otherwise than on application of insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary
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paragraphs: (1) The Bank shall cancel the registration of an insurance intermediary or reinsurance intermediary on being satisfied on reasonable grounds that the intermediary is failing or has failed to comply with any of the requirements imposed by or under Part 3.
(2) The Bank may also cancel the registration of an insurance intermediary or a reinsurance intermediary on any of the following grounds:
(a) the intermediary has not undertaken insurance mediation or reinsurance mediation within the immediately preceding 6 months;
(b) the registration was obtained by means of a false or misleading representation;
(c) the intermediary has become subject to an insolvency process, such as. winding-up or bankruptcy;
(d) since the intermediary was registered, the circumstances under which the registration took place have changed to the extent that an application for registration would be refused had it been made in the changed circumstances;
(e) the intermediary, or if it is a body corporate or partnership, any person concerned in its direction or management, is convicted of—