Insurance Companies Act 1974

2 Persons permitted to carry on insurance business

(1) No person shall carry on in Great Britain insurance business of a class relevant for the purposes of this Part of this Act, other than industrial assurance business, except—

(a) a body corporate which is authorised under section 3 below to carry on business of that class ;

(b) an unincorporated body of persons which is authorised under that section to carry on business of that class, being a body which immediately before 3rd November 1966 was carrying on insurance business (whether of that class or not) in Great Britain;

(c) a member of Lloyd's, or of any other association of underwriters approved for the purposes of this Part of this Act by the Secretary of State;

(d) a body registered under the Acts relating to friendly societies; or

(e) a trade union or employers' association (within the meaning of the [1974 c. 52.] Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974) where the insurance business carried on by the union or association is limited to the provision for its members of provident benefits or strike benefits.

(2) No person shall carry on in Great Britain industrial assurance business except—

(a) a body corporate which is authorised under section 3 below to carry on such business; or

(b) a society registered under the [1896 c. 25.] Friendly Societies Act 1896, being a friendly society within the meaning of that Act.

(3) Subsection (1) above shall not preclude any person from carrying on pecuniary loss insurance business if he carries it on solely in the course of carrying on, and for the purposes of, banking business.

(4) The Acts mentioned in subsection (1)(d) above include Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland and Measures of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the reference in subsection (2)(b) above to the Friendly Societies Act 1896 includes a reference to that Act as it applies to Northern Ireland and to any enactment of the Parliament of Northern Ireland or Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly re-enacting that Act with or without modifications.