Section 19, The Insurance Act, 2016

(1) The Commissioner shall not register an applicant asan insurer unless he is satisfied that– (a) the applicant conduct its insurance business in accordance with sound insurance principles; (b) the applicant is duly established under the applicable law and has fulfilled the requirements pertaining to capital pursuant to section 28; (c) the applicant has paid to the Bank of Sierra Leone the statutory deposit required under section 29 and has submitted evidence of such payment from the Bank of Sierra Leone; (d) the arrangements relating to re-insurance in respect of the classes of insurance business to be transacted are adequate and valid; (e) the proposal forms, terms and conditions of policies are in order and acceptable; (f) there is at least– (i) one person with an Associate Chartered Insurance Institute (ACII) Diploma or a West African Insurance Institute (WAII) Diploma or a recognised equivalent professional insurance qualification; (ii) a holder of a recognised University degree in insurance or actuarial science with a minimum of five years post qualification experience in the middle management cadre of an insurance company,to head each department of the applicant’s insurance business; (g) the directors and shareholders of the applicant are not persons who have been convicted of any offence involving fraud or dishonesty; (h) the name of the applicant is not likely to be mistaken for the name of another insurer or so nearly resembling that as to be calculated to mislead; (i) the applicant has paid the registration fee; (j) where the class of insurance business is other than life insurance, the application is for the purpose of transacting any of the four classes of insurance business. (2) The Commissioner shall register an applicant as an insurer by issuing a certificate of registration to that person.