In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
"adjuster" means a person who carries on adjusting business either for the insurer or the policy owner or both;
"adjusting business" means the business of investigating the cause and circumstances of a loss and ascertaining the quantum of the loss;
"annuity" means a right to a series of periodical payments at intervals of one year or less under a contract with a life insurer;
"appointed actuary" means an actuary appointed under subsection 83(1);
"appointed person" means a person appointed under paragraph 59(4)(a);
"approved company auditor" has the meaning in the Companies Act 1965 [Act 125];
"associate", in relation to a person, means-
(a) a relative of that person;
(b) a company of which that person is a director;
(c) a person who is an employee or partner of that person; and
(d) if that person is a company, a director or subsidiary of that company and a director or employee of that subsidiary;
"Bank" means the Central Bank established by the Central Bank of Malaysia Act 1958 [Act 519];
"body corporate" means a person incorporated by or under any written law, and includes a statutory body, public authority, or other authority, incorporated by or under a written law, a corporation, and a corporation sole;
"chief executive officer", in relation to an institution, means an individual, who either individually or jointly with one or more other persons, is responsible, subject to the authority of the directors, for the conduct of the business and the administration of the institution;
"child" includes an illegitimate child, a step-child and a child adopted under any written law of Malaysia or of any place outside Malaysia, or under a custom recognized by a class of persons in or outside Malaysia;
"commission" means an amount or a benefit in kind, whether expressed as a percentage of premium or not, agreed to be paid by a licensed insurer to an insurance agent or insurance broker, including introducer's fees;
"company" has the meaning in the Companies Act 1965 [Act 125];
"constituent document", in relation to an institution, means the statute, charter, memorandum of association and articles of association, rules and by-laws, partnership agreement, or other instrument, under or by which the institution is established and its governing and administrative structure and the scope of its functions and business are set out, whether contained in one or more documents;
"controller", in relation to an institution, means-
(a) a chief executive officer of the institution or of a body corporate of which the institution is a subsidiary;
(b) a person who, either alone or with any associate-
(i) has interest in one-third or more of its voting shares;
(ii) has the power to appoint, or cause to be appointed, a majority of its directors; or
(iii) has the power to decide, or cause to be decided, in respect of its business or administration;
"co-operative society" means a co-operative society registered under the Co-operative Societies Act 1993 [Act 502];
"corporation" has the meaning in the Companies Act 1965 [Act 125];
"credit facility" means an advance, loan or any other facility by which the borrower has access, directly or indirectly, to the funds of the lender and includes the giving of a guarantee in relation to a credit facility;
"director" includes a person who occupies the position of a director and includes a person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the directors or officers are accustomed to act and an alternate or substitute director, and without prejudice to the foregoing, in the case of-
(a) a co-operative society, means a member of the board, or other governing body of the co-operative society;
(b) a statutory body, means a member of the board, committee, council or other governing body of the statutory body;
(c) a partnership, means a partner;
(d) a sole-proprietorship, means the sole-proprietor; and
(e) any other body, association or group of persons, whether corporate or unincorporate, means a person having the direction and control of the management of its business or affairs;
"document" has the meaning in the Evidence Act 1950 [Act 56] and includes books and accounts;
"effective date" means the date of coming into force of this Act;
"employee", in relation to a licensee, includes the chief executive officer;
"financial adviser" means a person who carries on financial advisory business;
[Ins. Act A1247:s.3]
"financial adviser's representative" means an individual by whatever name described, in the direct employment of or acting for or by arrangement with a financial adviser, who performs for the financial adviser any of the functions of a financial adviser other than work ordinarily performed by accountants, clerks or cashiers, whether his remuneration, if any, is by way of payment of salary, wages, commission or otherwise and includes an officer of the financial adviser who performs for the financial adviser any of those functions, whether or not his remuneration is as aforesaid;
[Ins. Act A1247:s.3]
"financial advisory business" means any or all of the following services:
(a) analysing the financial planning needs of a person relating to insurance products;
(b) recommending the appropriate insurance products;
(c) sourcing insurance products from a licensed insurer;
(d) arranging of contracts in respect of insurance products; or
(e) other financial services as prescribed by the Bank;
[Ins. Act A1247:s.3]
"financial year", in relation to a licensee, means the period for which the licensee makes up the accounts of its business which shall be a period of twelve calendar months, calculated from the commencement of the business or from the end of the immediately preceding financial year, as the case may be, or such longer or shorter period as the Bank, in relation to a particular licensee, may approve on a particular occasion;
"foreign insurer" means an insurer which is incorporated outside Malaysia;
"foreign policy" means a policy which is issued by a licensed insurer and is not a Malaysian policy;
"Governor" means the Governor of the Bank and includes a Deputy Governor of the Bank;
"insurance" includes reinsurance;
"insurance agent" means a person who does all or any of the following:
(a) solicits or obtains a proposal for insurance on behalf of an insurer;
(b) offers or assumes to act on behalf of an insurer in negotiating a policy; or
(c) does any other act on behalf of an insurer in relation to the issuance, renewal, or continuance, of a policy;
"insurance broker" means a person who, as an independent contractor, carries on insurance broking business and includes a reinsurance broker;
"insurance broking business" means the business of soliciting, negotiating or procuring a policy with an insurer, or the renewal or continuance of the policy, for a policy owner other than himself and includes reinsurance broking for an insurer;
"insurance claim" means a demand for payment of an amount due under a policy;
"insurance fund" means an insurance fund established and maintained under section 38;
"insurer" includes a professional reinsurer;
"interest in a share" means a legal or equitable interest in a share;
"liabilities" includes debts, duties and obligations of every kind, whether present or future, whether vested or contingent;
"licensed" means licensed under section 16 or 17;
"licensed bank" has the meaning in the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 [Act 372];
"licensed business" means insurance business, insurance broking business, adjusting business or financial advisory business;
[Am. Act A1247:s.3]
"licensee" means an insurer, insurance broker, adjuster or financial adviser , licensed under section 16 or 17;
[Am. Act A1247:s.3]
"life business" means the business of undertaking liability under a life policy;
"life policy" means a policy by which payment of policy moneys is insured on death or survival, including extensions of cover for personal accident, disease or sickness and includes an annuity but does not include a personal accident policy;
"local insurer" means an insurer which is incorporated in Malaysia;
"Malaysian policy" means a policy which is issued in Malaysia by a licensed insurer and which is-
(a) a life policy where the policy owner's address is or was an address in Malaysia;
(b) a general policy which relates to risks arising in Malaysia, or where the policy owner is a resident of, or a permanent establishment in, Malaysia within the meaning of the Income Tax Act 1967 [Act 53]; or
(c) a reinsurance contract with another licensed insurer;
"margin of solvency" means the margin of solvency required under section 46;
"member", in relation to an institution which is-
(a) a corporation, means a shareholder;
(b) a co-operative society, means a member of the society;
(c) any other corporate body having a membership, means a member of that body;
(d) a partnership, means a partner; and
(e) a society registered under the Societies Act 1966 [Act 335], means a member of the society;
"Minister" means the Minister for the time being charged with the responsibility for finance;
"non-participating life policy" means a life policy not conferring any right to share in the surplus of a life insurance fund;
"office" includes the principal place of business, an electronic terminal and any other place from where or at which business of the licensee is carried on;
"officer", in relation to an institution, includes an employee and the chief executive officer;
"participating life policy" means a life policy conferring a right to share in the surplus of a life insurance fund;
"personal accident policy" means a policy providing fixed pecuniary benefits or benefits in the nature of indemnity or both against risks of the person insured sustaining injury or dying as the result of an accident or becoming incapacitated in consequence of disease;
"policy" means an insurance policy and includes a cover note or a contract of insurance, whether or not embodied in or evidenced by an instrument in the form of an insurance policy, and references to-
(a) issuing a policy shall be construed as entering into a contract of insurance, whether or not a formal contract has been issued; and
(b) a policy of an insurer includes a policy or a bond in respect of which the insurer is under any liability, whether the policy was issued by the insurer or the liability was transferred to the insurer from another insurer;
"policy moneys" includes any benefit, whether pecuniary or not, which is secured by a policy;
"policy owner" means the person who has legal title to a policy and includes-
(a) where a policy has been assigned, the assignee;
(b) the personal representative of a deceased policy owner, where such personal representative is entitled as against the insurer to the benefit of a policy;
(c) in relation to a policy providing for the payment of annuity, an annuitant; and
(d) where under a policy, moneys are due or payable, whether periodically or otherwise, the person to whom the moneys are due or payable;
"policy owner's address" means the address of the policy owner specified in the policy or any other address subsequently notified in writing by the policy owner to the insurer;
"premium" means the amount payable to an insurer under a policy as consideration for the obligations assumed by the insurer;
"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations published in the Gazette, and a power to prescribe includes the power to make different provisions in the regulations for different persons or classes of persons;
"private company" has the meaning in the Companies Act 1965 [Act 125];
"professional reinsurer" means a reinsurer which is licensed to carry on solely reinsurance business;
"property" means movable or immovable property and includes-
(a) a right, interest, title, claim, chose-in-action, power or privilege, whether present or future, or whether vested or contingent, in relation to any property; and
(b) a conveyance executed for conveying, assigning, appointing, surrendering, or otherwise transferring or disposing of immovable property where the person executing the conveyance is the proprietor or possessor, or is entitled to a contingent right, either for the whole or part of the interest;
"public company" means a company incorporated under the Companies Act 1965 [Act 125] and whose memorandum of association or articles of association do not impose the restrictions, limitations and prohibitions referred to in subsection 15(1) of that Act;
"reinsurance" means insurance cover effected by an insurer with a second insurer on the risks, wholly or partly, it has accepted and includes any similar arrangement by a branch of the insurer in Malaysia with its branch outside Malaysia (the head office of the insurer being, for this purpose, treated as a branch);
"related corporation" has the meaning in the Companies Act 1965 [Act 125];
"relative", in relation to a person, means-
(a) a spouse of the person;
(b) a brother or sister of the person;
(c) a brother or sister of a spouse of the person;
(d) a lineal ascendant or descendant of the person;
(e) a lineal ascendant or descendant of a spouse of the person;
(f) a spouse of any person referred to in paragraph (b), (c), (d) or (e);
(g) a lineal descendant of a person referred to in paragraph (b), (c) or (f);
(h) an uncle, aunt or cousin of the person, or of a spouse of the person; or
(i) a spouse, or a lineal ascendant or descendant, of the person referred to in paragraph (h);
"repealed Act" means the Insurance Act 1963 [Act 89] repealed under subsection 214(1);
"share", in relation to a corporation, means an issued share of the corporation and includes stock except where a distinction between stock and share is expressed or implied;
"specify" means specify in writing, and a power to specify includes the power to specify differently for different persons or different classes of persons, and to amend any specification;
"subsidiary" has the meaning in section 5 of the Companies Act 1965 [Act 125].