Friendly Societies Act 1992

32 Grant of authorisation by Commission: general

(1) The Commission may, subject to this Part of this Act, authorise friendly societies to carry on in the United Kingdom any class, or any part of a class, of insurance business and any description of non-insurance business.

(2) Where, on an application duly made under this section or section 33 below, the Commission determines to grant authorisation to a friendly society, it shall do so in writing in terms specifying—

(a) each class of insurance business,

(b) in relation to any class of such business the whole of which is not covered, each part of the class, and

(c) each description of non-insurance business,

the carrying on of which is covered by the authorisation.

(3) Authorisation may be restricted to industrial assurance business; and a friendly society is not authorised to carry on industrial assurance business unless the terms of its authorisation expressly specify such business.

(4) Authorisation entitles a friendly society to carry on business anywhere in the United Kingdom unless, at the request of the society, the terms of its authorisation are expressly restricted to a part of the United Kingdom.

(5) Authorisation may be granted to a friendly society unconditionally or subject to written conditions to be complied with by the society as provided by section 34 below.

(6) Schedule 13 to this Act shall have effect in relation to the making and determination of applications for authorisation, the imposition of conditions and the withdrawal of authorisation.

(7) An authorisation granted to a friendly society by the Chief Registrar under regulation 5 or 6 of the 1987 Regulations which is in force immediately before the commencement of section 31 above shall have effect as if it were an authorisation granted by the Commission under this section which authorised the society to carry on insurance business of such classes (or such parts of classes) as correspond to the business specified in the authorisation.

(8) Where an application for authorisation under the 1987 Regulations has not been decided before the commencement of subsection (1) above, the Chief Registrar shall send to the Commission the information submitted by the society or otherwise received by him in relation to the application; and the application shall be treated as being an application under this section.

(9) In this Part of this Act “authorisation” (except where the context otherwise requires) means an authorisation which is granted by the Commission under this section or deemed by this section to have been so granted; and “authorise” and “authorised” shall be construed accordingly.