International Insurance

General

Three classes of insurance companies exist.

• Class "A" - general insurance business
• Class "B" - long term insurance business
• Class "C" - general and long term business

Class "A" and "C" companies shall be granted a subclass "1" or "2" licence with respect to its general business. A subclass "1" licence is granted where

• the company is wholly owned by one or more persons and intends to carry on an international insurance business consisting only of insuring the risks of those persons; or
• an affiliate of a group and intends to carry on an international business consisting of insuring the risks of any other affiliates of that group or of its own shareholders.

A subclass "2" licence is granted in all other cases.

An international insurance company must have at least one director who is a resident.

The basic restrictions of an International Insurance Company registered under the International Insurance Act of 1999 are that it is prohibited:

• from undertaking any insurance business with any resident except a person registered or licensed under any other law in force in St. Lucia relating to
  International Financial Services and
• investing in any asset which represents a claim on any resident except a claim resulting from a loan to a person registered or licensed under any other law in force in St. Lucia relating to International Financial Services.

Licensing

In order to issue a license, the Minister will consider: -

• The business record and experience of the applicant
• The nature and sufficiency of the financial resources of the applicant or its parent company;
• The soundness and feasibility of the plans of the applicant for the conduct and development of the applicants business; and
• Whether the applicant will be owned and operated responsibly by persons who are fit as to character, competence and experience

Capital

The minimum capital requirements are as follows:

US$50,000 must be deposited or invested in St. Lucia as prescribed in the
Regulations to the Act.

Audit

An International Bank is required to present audited financial statements to
the Minister within 3 months after the end of the financial year.