General Insurance Manual: Main contents
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Introduction to the General Insurance Manual
Work on the taxation of insurance companies is concentrated in
the Large Business Service (LBS) offices in London and Edinburgh
and Scotland South area office. The General Insurance Manual (GIM)
is intended for use by officers in the LBS and elsewhere in HMRC
who deal with or are interested in direct tax issues involving
general insurance. It is written primarily for HMRC staff but it
will also assist customers and their advisers.
The manual gives an overview of the trade of general
insurance, explains the accounting and regulatory framework within
which general insurers operate, and gives guidance on the taxation
of general insurers, including the treatment of the investment
return, technical provisions and equalisation reserves. There are
separate sections on reinsurance, mutual insurance, and on
international aspects of general insurance – the taxation of
non-resident insurers operating in the UK, captive insurers, and
double taxation relief.
The manual is concerned only with general insurance business
as defined for regulatory purposes. It does not cover:
- the taxation of life insurance or other long-term business, including the results of permanent health insurance (PHI) and pre-1938 capital redemption business (which are covered in the Life Assurance Manual)
- the taxation of Lloyd’s underwriters (which is covered by the Lloyd’s Manual)
- the taxation of insurance policyholders, including ‘chargeable events’, sickness and unemployment insurance policies, and immediate needs annuities (which are covered in the Insurance Policyholder Taxation Manual)
- Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) or Value Added Tax (VAT) (which are covered in HMRC Guides and Business Briefs on IPT and VAT).
| GIM1000 | Legal and economic basis of insurance |
| GIM2000 | Accounting framework |
| GIM3000 | Regulatory framework |
| GIM4000 | Taxation of general insurance – main principles |
| GIM5000 | Taxation of the investment return |
| GIM6000 | Technical provisions |
| GIM7000 | Equalisation reserves |
| GIM8000 | Reinsurance and other forms of risk transfer |
| GIM9000 | Mutual insurance |
| GIM10000 | Non-resident insurers |
| GIM11000 | Captive insurers |
| GIM12000 | Double taxation relief |
Feedback
Please send any feedback on this Manual to Victor Baker or Simon Claydon at CT&VAT(Technical) Insurance Group, Mailstation A, 3rd floor, 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ.
Reports
Where specialist guidance is necessary, or where there are
unusual features in the accounts or computations of general
insurers, reports should be made to:
CT&VAT(Technical) Insurance Group.
