Section 83, The Insurance Act, 2000

(1) A transfer or assignment of a policy of life insurance whether with or without consideration may be made by an endorsement upon the policy itself or by a separate instrument signed in either case by the transferor or assignor or his duly authorised agent and attested by at least one witness specifically setting forth the fact of the transfer or assignment. [Margin: Assignment of life insurance policies.] (2) The transfer or assignment shall be complete and effectual upon the execution of such endorsement or instrument duly attested. (3) Where the assignment or transfer is in favour of the insurer it shall not be operative against him and shall not confer upon the transferor or assignor or his legal representative any right to sue for the amount of such policy or the money secured thereby until a notice in writing of the transfer or assignment and either the said endorsement or instrument itself or a copy certified to be correct by both transferor and transferee or their duly authorised agents have been delivered to the insurer at his principal place of business in Sierra Leone. (4) The date of which the notice referred to in subsection (3) is delivered to the insurer shall regulate the priority of all claims under a transfer or assignment as between persons interested in the policy and where there is more than one instrument or transfer or assignment the priority of the claims under such instruments shall be governed by the order in which the notice referred to in subsection (3) are delivered. No. 5 Insurance Act 2000 47 (5) Upon the receipt of the notice referred to in subsection (3), the insurer shall record the fact of such transfer or assignment together with the date thereof, and the name of the transferee or the assignee and shall, at the request of the person who gave the notice, or the transferee or assignee, on payment of the prescribed fee grant a written acknowledgement of the receipt of such notice which shall be conclusive evidence against the insurer that he has duly received the notice to which such acknowledgement relates. (6) Subject to the terms and conditions of the transfer or assignment, the insurer shall, from the date of the receipt of the notice referred to in subsection (3), recognise the transferee or assignee named in the notice as the only person entitled to benefit under the policy and such person shall be subject to all liabilities and equities to which the transferor or assignor was subject at the date of the transfer or assignment and may institute any proceedings in relation to the policy without obtaining the consent of the transferor or assignor or making him a party to such proceedings. (7) Any rights and remedies of an assignee or transferee of a policy of life insurance under an assignment or transfer effected prior to the commencement of this Act shall not be affected by the provisions of this section. (8) Notwithstanding any law or custom having the force of law to the contrary, an assignment in favour of a person made with the condition that it shall be inoperative or that interest shall pass to some other person on the happening of a specified event during the life time of the person whose life is insured and an assignment in favour of the survivor or survivors of a number of persons, shall be valid. PART X — OFFENCES [Margin: Penalty for false statements.]