1 This Notice is issued pursuant to section 64(2) of the Insurance Act (Cap. 142) ["the Act"] and comprises both mandatory requirements and best practice standards on continuing professional development. It applies to all insurance brokers and their broking staff.
2 This Notice sets out the following:
Part I - Mandatory Requirements:
(a) Minimum standards and examination requirements for broking staff;
(b) Submission requirements for appointment of broking staff; and
Part II - Non-mandatory Best Practice Standards:
(c) Continuing professional development (CPD) for broking staff.
Definitions
3 For the purposes of this Notice:
"broking staff" refers to any employee of and any person contracted with an insurance broker to provide technical advice to its clients in respect of insurance policies relating to general business or in respect of reinsurance of liabilities under insurance policies relating to life business.
"direct general insurance broker" has the same meaning as in section 1A of the Act.
"exempt direct general insurance broker"means an exempt insurance broker carrying on business as a direct general insurance broker.
"exempt insurance broker"means any person who is exempt from registration as an insurance broker under section 35ZN(1)(a) to (e) of the Act and any insurer registered under the Act to carry on direct life business who is exempt from registration as an insurance broker under section 35ZN(1)(f) of the Act in respect of its carrying on business as an insurance broker;
"general business" has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Act; and
"insurance broker" means a registered insurance broker or an exempt insurance broker.
Part I - Mandatory Minimum Standards and Examination Requirements for Broking Staff
4 This Part sets out minimum standards and examination requirements which are mandatory. A failure to comply with a mandatory requirement is punishable under section 55(2) of the Act.
5 All insurance brokers shall ensure that broking staff employed or appointed by them are fit and proper persons to act in the capacity so appointed. In determining whether broking staff are fit and proper persons to act in the capacity so appointed, insurance brokers may have regard to the fit and proper criteria set out in the Guidelines on Fit and Proper Criteria issued by the Authority (Guideline No: IA/II - G03).
6 Direct general insurance brokers and exempt direct general insurance brokers shall further ensure that broking staff employed or appointed by them possess the Certificate in General Insurance (CGI) qualification or any other equivalent qualifications listed in Appendix 1 (PDF, 16.8KB), before they are allowed to provide advice on or sell general insurance products.
7 With effect from 1 Jun 20021, all new broking staff employed or appointed by a direct general insurance broker and exempt direct general insurance broker must pass the Basic Concepts and Principles of General Insurance module as well as the relevant modules on Personal General Insurance or Commercial General Insurance or both, or possess any other equivalent qualifications listed in Appendix 1, before they are allowed to provide advice on or sell personal general insurance products or commercial general insurance products or both, respectively.
8 In addition, MAS Notice 117 (Training and Competency Requirement: Health Insurance Module) dated 31 Dec 2002 issued under the Act shall apply to all direct general insurance brokers and exempt direct general insurance brokers as well as their broking staff who are involved in providing advice on or arranging contracts of general insurance policies that provides one or more of the following benefits:
(a) reimbursement of medical expenses;
(b) income or monies during disability;
(c) monies to defray the cost of long-term care;
(d) monies on the occurrence of critical illness.
With effect from 1 Jan 2003, MAS Notice 117 requires such broking staff to pass the health insurance module before they can provide advice on or arrange such policies, unless the broking staff falls under paragraph 7 or 8 of that Notice.
Submission requirements for appointment of broking staff
9 Registered insurance brokers shall submit to the Authority on a monthly basis, the personal particulars of new broking staff appointed, using the format attached at Appendix 2 (PDF, 14.6KB). These, together with information on the names of broking staff who had resigned including their date of resignation, shall be submitted to the Authority by the first week of the following month.
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Note:
Under section 55(2) of the Act, any person who is guilty of any breach of a duty imposed on him by any direction issued by the Authority (which would include the mandatory requirements set out in this Notice) under section 64(2), shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $12,500 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $1,250 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.
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