THE INSURANCE ACT, 1938, PART 1

(ACT NO. IV OF 1938)

 

[ 26th February, 1938]

 

এই আইনটি বীমা আইন, ২০১০ (২০১০ সনের ১৩ নং আইন) দ্বারা রহিত করা হইয়াছে।

An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the business of insurance.

WHEREAS it is expedient to consolidate and amend the law relating to the business of insurance;

It is hereby enacted as follows: –

 

PART I

PRELIMINARY

 

Short title, extent and commencement

  1. (1) This Act may be called the Insurance Act, 1938.

 

(2) It extends to the whole of Bangladesh.

 

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, appoint in this behalf.

Definitions

  1. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, –

 

(1) “actuary” means an actuary is possessing such qualifications as may be prescribed;

 

1[* * *]

 

2[(3) “approved securities” means Government securities, and any other security charged on the revenues of the Government, or guaranteed fully as regards principal and interest by the Government; and any debenture or other security for money issued under the authority of any Act of Parliament and specified as an approved security for the purposes of this Act by the Government by notification in the official Gazette];

 

3[(3A) “approved investments” means such investments as the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, specify as approved investments for the purposes of this Act;]

 

(4) “auditor” means a person qualified under the provisions of section 144 of the Companies Act, 1913, to act as an auditor of companies;

 

(5) “certified” in relation to any copy or translation of a document required to be furnished by or on behalf of an insurer or a provident society as defined in Part III means certified by a principal officer of such insurer or provident society to be a true copy or a correct translation, as the case may be;

 

4[(5A) “company” has the meaning assigned to it in clause (2) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 1913;

 

(5B) “Chief Controller of Insurance” or “Chief Controller” means the officer appointed by the Government to perform the duties of the Chief Controller of Insurance under this Act;]

 

(6) “Court” means the principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction in a district, and includes the High Court Division in exercise of its ordinary original civil jurisdiction;

 

5[(6A) “employer of agents” means a person certified under section 42A who procures insurance business for an insurer whether wholly or in part by employing or causing to be employed insurance agents on behalf of the insurer;

 

(6B) “fire insurance business” means the business of effecting, otherwise than incidentally to some other class of insurance business, contracts of insurance against loss by or incidental to fire or other occurrence customarily included among the risks insured against in fire insurance policies;

 

(6C) “general insurance business” means fire, marine or miscellaneous insurance business, whether carried on singly or in combination with one or more of them;]

 

(7) “Government securities” means Government securities as defined in the Securities Act, 1920;

 

6[(7A) “health insurance business” means the business of effecting contract of insurance upon human sickness or accidental human body injury necessitating medical treatment by a medical practitioner registered under Medical and Dental Council Act, 1980 (XVI of 1980);]

 

(8) “insurance company” means any insurer being a company, association or partnership which may be wound up under the Companies Act, 1913, or to which the Partnership Act, 1932, applies;

 

7[(8A) “insurance surveyor” means a person (certified under section 44A) who examines the goods, property or any interests insured under a policy of general insurance to

 

ascertain the cause, extent and location of any loss and to determine the amount of such loss and the amount which is payable to the insured by the insurer or insurers or any person liable in respect of such loss;]

 

(9) “insurer” means-

 

(a) any individual or unincorporated body of individuals or body corporate incorporated under the law of any country or State outside Bangladesh, carrying on insurance business not being a person specified in sub-clause (c) of this clause which-

 

(i) carries on that business in Bangladesh; or

 

(ii) has his or its principal place of business or is domiciled in Bangladesh; or

 

(iii) with the object of obtaining insurance business, employs a representative, or maintains a place of business, in Bangladesh;

 

(b) anybody corporate not being a person specified in sub-clause (c) of this clause carrying on the business of insurance, which is a body corporate incorporated under any law for the time being in force in Bangladesh; or stands to any such body corporate in the relation of a subsidiary company within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1913, as defined by sub-section (2) of section 2 of that Act, and

(c) any person who in Bangladesh has a standing contract with underwriters who are members of the Society of Lloyd’s whereby such person is authorised within the terms of such contract to issue protection notes, cover notes, or other documents granting insurance cover to others on behalf of the underwriters,

 

but does not include an insurance agent licensed under section 42 or a provident society as defined in Part III;

 

(10) “insurance agent” means a person who has been granted a licence under section 42 to act as an insurance agent;

 

(11) “life insurance business” means the business of effecting contracts of insurance upon human life, including any contract whereby the payment of money is assured on death (except policies for death by accident only) or the happening of any contingency dependent on human life or which is subject to payment of premiums for a term dependent on human life and shall be deemed to include-

 

(a) the granting of disability and double or triple indemnity accident benefits, if so provided in the contract of insurance;

 

(b) the granting of annuities upon human life; 8[* * *]

 

(c) the granting of superannuation allowances and annuities payable out of any fund applicable solely to the relief and maintenance of person engaged or who have been engaged in any particular profession, trade or employment or of the dependents of such person;

 

9[(d) health insurance;]

 

(12) “manager” and “officer” have the meanings assigned to those expressions in clauses (9) and (11) respectively of section 2 of the Companies Act, 1913;

 

(13) “managing agent” means a person, firm or company entitled to the management of the whole affairs of a company by virtue of an agreement with the company, and under the control and direction of the directors except to the extent, if any, otherwise provided for in the agreement, and includes any person, firm or company occupying such position by whatever name called.

 

Explanation.- If a person occupying the position of managing agent calls himself manager or managing director, he shall nevertheless be regarded as managing agent for the purposes of section 32 of this Act;

 

10[(13A) “marine insurance business” means the business of effecting contracts of insurance upon vessels of any description, including cargoes, freights and other interests which may be legally insured, in or in relation to such vessels, cargoes and freights, goods, wares, merchandise and property of whatever description insured for any transit by land, water or air, or by any combination thereof and whether or not including warehouse risks or similar risks in addition or as incidental to such transit, and includes any other risks customarily included among the risks insured against in marine insurance policies;

 

11[(13AA) “member of the family”, in relation to any person, means the husband or a wife, the dependent father, mother, brother or sister, or a minor son or unmarried daughter of that person;]

 

(13B) “miscellaneous insurance business” means the business of effecting contracts of insurance which is not principally of any kind included in clauses 12[clause (6B), excluding sub-clause (d) of clause (11) and clause (13A)];

 

13[* * *]]

 

14[(13D) “policy-holder” includes a person to whom the whole of the interest of the policy-holder in the policy is assigned once and for all, but does not include an assignee thereof whose interest in the policy is defeasible or is for the time being subject to any condition;]

 

(14) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under section 114;

 

15[(14A) “private company” has the meaning assigned to it in clause (13) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 1913;

 

(14B) “public company” means a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1913 or under the Indian Companies Act, 1882, or under the Indian Companies Act, 1866, or under any Act repealed thereby, which is not a private company or a subsidiary of a private company;]

 

16[(15) “scheduled bank” has the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (k) of Article 2 of the Bangladesh Bank Order, 1972;]

 

(16) “specified miscellaneous insurance business” means such classes or sub-classes of miscellaneous insurance business as may be prescribed for the purposes of section 3AA or section 6.

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