Labuan Life Insurance Business

Life insurance business means insurance business connected with any policy by which payment of policy monies is insured on death or on the happening of any contingency dependent on the termination or continuation of human life and includes any incidental extension of cover and reinsurances of such business.

Licensing and Operational Requirements

1. Applicant must maintain a minimum paid up capital or working fund with a bank in Labuan amounting to RM7.5 million equivalents in any foreign currency;
2. Applicant must be a member of Labuan International Insurance Association;
3. Applicant must provide a Letter of guarantee or undertaking from the parent company to Labuan FSA;
4. Applicant for licence to carry on life insurance business in Labuan must:
   i)  Establish an operational management office in Labuan managed by a management team that has an adequate knowledge and expertise in insurance business; Or
   ii)  Appoint a licensed Labuan underwriting manager.
5. Appointment of any person in control, director, or Principal Officer (PO) of a Labuan life insurer must obtain prior approval from Labuan FSA. Notwithstanding, Labuan life insurers that are established as a branch are not required to obtain approval on the appointment of their directors; and
6. The person in control, director and PO of a Labuan life insurer must be of fit and proper persons and shall not be subject of any adverse report from any reliable sources.

Fees

All licensees are required to pay to Labuan FSA annual licence fees on or before 15 January of each year:

If any of the above insurance licensees uses a Protected Cell Company (PCC) structure, the annual fee would be as follows irrespective of type of licenses:

• Core - RM 30,000 / USD9,500
• Each cell - RM 10,000 / USD3,000

Governing Legislation

The Labuan life insurance activities are governed by the following Labuan laws:-

Labuan Financial Services and Securities Act 2010
Labuan Companies Act 1990
Labuan Business Activity Tax Act 1990

For a complete list of all Labuan laws, please click here.

Guidelines and Circulars for Labuan Life Insurers

Guidelines on Market Conduct for Labuan Insurance and Insurance Related Companies
Prudential Framework of Corporate Governance for Insurance and Insurance Related Companies
Guidelines on Minimum Audit Standards for Internal Auditors of Labuan Insurance and Insurance Related Companies
Guidelines on Fit and Proper Person

For a complete list of the related guidelines and circulars for Labuan life insurers, please click here.