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A Brief
Introduction
The Island's Parliament known as Tynwald and is the World's oldest parliamentary body, with over 1,000 years of unbroken rule. Tynwald is comprised of two chambers, the Legislative Council and the House of Keys, and is responsible for the passing of domestic legislation and the levying of taxes. The House of Keys has twenty four members, who are elected by the Island's people to represent each of the fifteen constituencies. The Upper House, the Legislative Council, is made up of ten people and includes the President of Tynwald, the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, and HM Attorney General. Queen Elizabeth II, Lord of Man, is the Head of State and her personal representative on the Island is His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor. There are no party politics, as most candidates for the House of Keys stand as independents and invariably, as is the nature of the Island's populace, adopt conservative policies.
The Isle of Man, though not part of the United Kingdom, relies as a British Crown Dependency on the United Kingdom for its defence and to act on its behalf in all international matters.
There is an agreement between the Manx and British Governments known as the Customs and Excise Agreement 1979. It is often referred to as "The Common Purse" and is basically a revenue-sharing system. The Agreement enables the Isle of Man to have its own independent Customs and Excise administration and to be responsible for the collection of any duties and taxes arising in the Island.
The Island is not a member of the European Community (EC), but does enjoy a special relationship with the EC as set out in Protocol 3 to the United Kingdom's Treaty of Accession.
This relationship allows free trade of Manx generated goods (industrial and agricultural products) with the Community.
THE
ISLE OF MAN INSURANCE ACT 1986 &
POLICY HOLDER PROTECTION
Companies that are based in the Isle Of Man and who are
governed by the Insurance Act 1986. Its
activities are regulated by the Isle of Man Insurance Supervisor have to
demonstrate to the regulatory authorities that their who Companies are
properly managed and ensure that adequate financial resources are provided
for the business to be carried on.
Investor Protection
Regulations allow for the establishment of a fund out of which
compensation is to be paid to investors in authorised collective
investment schemes if a manager or trustee of an authorised scheme is
unable to satisfy clients in respect of a civil liability incurred by
them in connection with their business. The regulations also provide for
the levying of contributions to the fund from managers and trustees of
authorised schemes.
Compensation is as follows:
100% of the first £30,000
90% of the next £20,000
with a maximum compensation of £48,000
To date no defaults have taken place and consequently the Compensation
scheme has not been activated. This gives weight to the Financial
Supervision Commission's contention that the licensing criteria and
supervision regime presently in existence, contributes in no small way
to the stability and reputation of the Island's fund industry.
The scheme is funded
by a levy of up to 2% on each participating company in the event of a
default being declared. It is
intended that the policyholders of any Company in default would continue
their contracts with another Isle of Man Company under the terms of this
scheme.
This statutory scheme was introduced in 1990, and replaced
a voluntary scheme introduced in 1988 by the life companies then operating
from the Isle of Man. The
statutory scheme maintains the essential principles inherent in the
voluntary scheme.
The introduction of the voluntary scheme in 1988 was key to
the Isle of Man receiving "Designated Territory" status under
the UK Financial Services Act 1986. This
status, which recognized that the Isle of Man had levels of investor
protection that were of similar strength to those in the UK, was awarded
only for the Island's insurance activities at that time. it has
subsequently been awarded for other activities such as Banking and Unit
Trusts under other protection schemes.
The signatory Companies to the Policyholder Protection
Scheme include:
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Hansard International Limited
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Clerical Medical International Financial Services Limited
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Royal Skandia Life Assurance Limited
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Isle
of Man Assurance Limited
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Claremont Life Ltd
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Albany International Assurance Limited
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Sun Life International
(IOM) Limited
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Safe
Assurance Ltd
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Zurich International
Life
Such compensation schemes are designed to reaffirm the
status of the Isle of Man in the international finance sector and to
reassure existing and potential investors.
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