UK Offence Report

SCHEDULE 2

SCHEDULE 2 of The Insurance Companies (Third Insurance Directives) Regulations 1994

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

2 A person who discloses any information in contravention of this paragraph shall be guilty of an offence under section 449 of the Companies Act or Article 442 of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 and liable accordingly.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
acting without the licence or authorisation required
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision; qualified by absence of consent (an element).

What would breach SCHEDULE 2?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. On these words an offence is committed where a person discloses any information in contravention of this paragraph.
  2. Starting the activity before the licence is granted, rather than on the day it takes effect under the Insurance Companies (Third Insurance Directives) Regulations 1994.
  3. Carrying on after a licence has expired, been surrendered or been suspended.
  4. Relying on somebody else's authorisation, where the provision requires the person doing the act to hold one.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months

this is the level 5 value when the instrument came into force (1994-07-01); the standard scale is keyed to the date the offence was committed, and for conduct today the same words mean an unlimited fine.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
27 June 1994
In force from
1 July 1994
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations, which come into force on 1st July 1994, make amendments to the Insurance Companies Act 1982 (“the 1982 Act”) and the Financial Services Act 1986 (“the 1986 Act”). The Regulations give effect to provisions of Council Directive 92/49/EEC on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to direct insurance other than life assurance and amending Directives 73/239/EEC and 88/357/EEC (OJ No.L228, 11.8.92, p.1); and of Council Directive 92/96/EEC on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to direct life assurance and amending Directives 79/267/EEC and 90/619/EEC (OJ No.L360, 9.12.92, p.1) (“the Directives”).One of the principal purposes of the Directives is to introduce for direct insurance business the principle, which has already been adopted in the banking sector, of home State control.Under this system each member State assumes sole responsibility for the authorisation and supervision of the business carried on throughout the EC by undertakings having their head office in that State. The Directives also provide for further harmonisation of member States' rules concerning the authorisation and regulation of insurance undertakings. Part I of the Regulations makes provision for the citation and commencement of the Regulations and contains interpretation provisions. Part II of the Regulations contains amendments to the 1982 Act.Chapter I amends Part I of the Act, which is concerned with the authorisation of insurance business.It extends the list of classes of long term business in Schedule 1 to the Act (regulation 3).It inserts into the Act the definition of “EC company” and excludes from the authorisation requirement under section 2 of the Act insurance business carried on in the United Kingdom by such companies which meet specified conditions (regulation 4). It also inserts into the Act the definitions of “UK company” and “non-EC company” and introduces the requirement that the Secretary of State shall not authorise such companies under section 3 of the Act if it appears to him that the criteria of sound and prudent management-set out in Schedule 1-may not be fulfilled (regulation 5).It amends the restriction on the extent to which companies may be authorised to carry on both long term and general insurance business, as it applies in respect of the combination of long term and accident and health insurance business (regulation 6), and the provisions of the Act concerning the withdrawal of authorisation (regulations 10 and 12).It also provides the Secretary of State with a new power to suspend the authorisation of a UK or non-EC company where it appears to him that this should be done as a matter of urgency (regulation 11). Chapter II amends Part II of the 1982 Act, which is concerned with the regulation ofinsurance business.Except in certain specified circumstances, this Part of the Act no longer applies to EC companies (regulation 13).The principal changes relate to: the adequacy of the assets by which UK companies cover the liabilities of their insurance business and the adequacy of the premiums payable under their long term business contracts (regulations 17 and 18), the grounds on which powers of intervention under the Act are exercisable (regulation 19), the power of the Secretary of State to require a company to maintain within the United Kingdom assets to a specified value (regulation 21), new powers which enable the Secretary of State to obtain, on specified grounds, an injunction to prohibit a UK company from disposing of assets to the value of the liabilities of its business in the EC (regulation 22) and to appoint persons to carry out investigations to assist him in carrying out certain of his functions under the Act (regulation 23), the power of the Secretary of State to obtain information and to impose requirements for the protection of policyholders (regulations 24 and 25), restrictions on the disclosure of information relating to individual insurance undertakings except in specified circumstances and for specified purposes (regulations 26 and 27 and Schedule 2), the transfer from one insurance undertaking to another of rights and obligations under contracts of insurance (regulations 28 to 30 and Schedule 3), the grounds on which the Secretary of State may petition for the winding up of a UK company (regulation 30), the approval of proposed managing directors, chief executives and controllers of UK or non-EC companies and of the acquisition by existing controllers of holdings in UK companies, including new powers enabling the Secretary of State to seek further information before deciding whether to serve a notice of objection in such cases, to make the giving of approval subject to compliance with such conditions as he may impose, to serve a notice of objection where the requisite notice has not been given, and in respect of existing controllers of such companies, and, where a person has become or continues to be a controller of, or obtained or retained a holding in, a UK company in breach of the provisions of the Act, to impose specified restrictions in respect of shares in the company held by that person or to apply to the court for an order directing that such shares shall be sold (regulations 32 to 35 and Schedule 4), and the duty to notify changes of directors, controllers and managers (regulations 36 and 37). Chapter III amends Part III of the 1982 Act, which is concerned with the conduct ofinsurance business.The changes relate to the information and statutory notices to be provided to policy holders and potential policy holders (regulations 40 to 43 and Schedule 5) and the conduct of linked long term insurance business (regulation 44). Chapter IV replaces the whole of Part IIIA of the 1982 Act, with the provisions of Schedules 6 and 7 relating to the recognition in the United Kingdom of companies having their head office in one of the other States of the European Economic Area and to the recognition of United Kingdom insurers in such States (regulations 45 and 46).Schedule 6 contains a new Schedule 2F to the Act which sets out procedural requirements in respect of EC companies which propose to carry on direct insurance or reinsurance business or to provide insurance in the United Kingdom and in respect of companies which have their head office in an EFTA State which propose to provide insurance in the United Kingdom, including the information to be provided and in respect of changes to that information.It also specifies the Secretary of State’s powers of intervention in respect of such companies.Schedule 7 contains a new Schedule 2G to the Act which sets out procedural requirements in respect of United Kingdom insurers which propose to carry on direct insurance business or to provide insurance in another member State, including the information to be provided and the criteria to be fulfilled by the insurer and in respect of changes to that information. It also sets out procedural requirements in respect of United Kingdom insurers which propose to provide insurance in an EFTA State, or to provide insurance in the United Kingdom through a branch in another State of the European Economic Area. Chapter V amends Part IV of the 1982 Act, which is concerned with special classes of insurers.The changes relate to proposed transfers of industrial assurance business (regulation 47) and the powers of the Secretary of State in relation to, and transfers of insurance business to or from, Lloyd’s underwriters (regulation 48). Chapter VI amends Schedule 3A to the 1982 Act, which is concerned with the law applicable to certain insurance contracts (regulation 49) and inserts new and amended interpretation provisions into the Act (regulations 50 to 55). Part III of the Regulations amends the 1986 Act.The principal changes relate to: the rules of self-regulating organisations as they apply to EC companies (regulation 56), the automatic recognition of such companies as authorised persons under the 1986 Act (regulation 57), the conduct of investment business by such companies (regulation 58), the powers of intervention in respect of such companies (regulation 59), an extension of the power of the Securities and Investments Board to obtain information from authorised persons and certain specified recognised bodies where this information is required for the exercise of the Board’s functions under Part III of the Regulations, and provision that the requirement to appoint an auditor shall no longer apply to EC companies (regulation 60), a new requirement for designated agencies to co-operate with supervisory authorities in other member States for the purpose of complying with the Directives (regulation 61), a modification of the provisions of the Act which prevent restrictive practices being adopted by designated agencies and certain other bodies (regulation 62), an extension of the provisions of the 1986 Act concerning contracts effected in contravention of section 2 of the 1982 Act so that they apply to contracts effected in contravention of Part IIIA of the 1982 Act as inserted by the Regulations (regulation 64), and restrictions on disclosure of information obtained by the Secretary of State or a designated agency for the exercise of his or its functions (regulation 66). Part IV of the Regulations and Schedule 8 contain minor and consequential amendments and transitional and transitory provisions (regulations 68 to 71).

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”; c10_offence_under_parent_act
Confidence
0.92 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source