ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the role of the common law in assisting in the determination of whether an insurer is indeed conducting insurance business and so falls within the parameters of the Insurance Act. The Commonwealth Caribbean insurance industry is regulated by statute, associated regulations and the common law. Statute vests responsibility for insurance administration in the regulator – historically described variously as Supervisor, Registrar or Commissioner of Insurance, depending on jurisdiction. The Caribbean Law Institute’s Insurance Bill, adopted throughout the Caribbean in varying versions, and has strengthened the regulatory regime. To mitigate the risk of corporate failure, recent regional insurance legislation imposes more robust regulatory and financial obligations, the underlying objective being maintenance of solvency – solvency of course being the prerequisite for insurance companies’ ability to honour obligations when, as probabilities dictate, they shall become due. A statutory fund requires an insurance company’s placement in trust of assets equal to the company’s liabilities and reserves.
