Policy on rules of conduct

In Belgium, insurance intermediaries, and therefore AVESTA Insurance, are subject to various legal obligations (MIFID, IDD, ...) aimed at reinforcing the protection of customers by establishing rules of conduct. AVESTA Insurance undertakes to comply with these rules of conduct, some of which are listed in this policy. AVESTA Insurance also reserves the right to modify this policy at any time in accordance with new legal requirements or its activities. The latest version will be posted on the website at all times under the "Rules of Conduct" tab.

1. Presentation

AVESTA Insurance, Avenue d'Ecolys 2 Bte 32 in 5020 Namur is registered as an insurance intermediary with the FSMA under the number 0797.621.102.

2. Role of the insurance intermediary.

AVESTA Insurance as an insurance intermediary takes care of the management of your contracts

We can also provide advice on existing or future contracts. Our teams, composed of insurance professionals, have the mission of finding you optimal solutions in terms of coverage and price for the various risks you are facing. They accompany you during the pre-contractual, contractual and possibly during the post-contractual period of the insurance contracts that you conclude with the companies via the intermediary AVESTA Insurance and this in an honest, fair and professional manner in the best interests of the client. They also handle any claims that may arise. In addition, it is essential that AVESTA Insurance clients contact an AVESTA Insurance representative to inform him or her of any changes in risk or new expectations in terms of insurance. The employee in charge of the file will then be able to study the information provided by the client and, if necessary, find optimal solutions.

AVESTA Insurance employees provide an unbiased analysis to clients and potential clients based on the risks faced by the prospect or client as well as their expectations. This analysis is carried out by means of a thorough survey of the companies on the market in terms of both underwriters and premiums. AVESTA Insurance guarantees its clients that at least three companies will be systematically interviewed. The results of these inquiries will be thoroughly analyzed before being communicated in detail to the client or prospect.

3. Lines of insurance handled by AVESTA Insurance

Through the various companies listed in point 1, AVESTA Insurance may act as an intermediary in the various branches listed below.

a. Non-life business group

Accidents.
1. 1.a. Accidents other than industrial accidents
  1. Lump sum benefits ;
  2. Indemnity Benefits;
  3. Combinations ;
  4. People transported.
2. 1.b. Workplace accidents
Illness.
1. Lump sum benefits ;
2. Indemnity Benefits;
3. Combinations ;
4. Long-term care insurance.
Bodies of land vehicles, other than railroads. Any damage sustained by:
1. Self-propelled land vehicles ;
2. Non-self-propelled land vehicles.
Railway vehicle body.
1. Any damage to vehicles.
Air vehicle corps.
1. Any damage to these vehicles.
Marine, lake and river vehicle bodies. Any damage sustained by:
1. River vehicles ;
2. Lake vehicles ;
3. Maritime vehicles.
Goods carried, including merchandise, baggage and all other property.
1. Any damage to the goods transported or luggage, regardless of the means of transport.
Fire and natural elements.
1. Any damage to property (other than property included in classes 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7) when caused by:
2. Fire;
3. Explosion;
4. Storm;
5. Natural elements other than hail and frost;
6. Nuclear power;
7. Land subsidence.
Other property damage.
1. Any damage to property (other than property included in classes 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7) when such damage is caused by hail or frost, or by any event, such as theft, other than those included under 8.
R.C. motorized land vehicles.
1. Any liability resulting from the use of self-propelled land vehicles.
2. 10a: compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance
3. 10b: carrier's liability insurance
R.C. air vehicles.
1. Any liability resulting from the use of air vehicles (including carrier liability).
R.C. marine, lake and river vehicles. Any liability resulting from the use of river, lake and maritime vehicles (including carrier's liability).
R.C. General.
1. Any liability other than those mentioned under numbers 10, 11 and 12.
Credit.
1. General Insolvency;
2. Export credit ;
3. Installment sales;
4. Mortgage Credit;
5. Farm Credit.
Bail.
1. Direct Surety;
2. Indirect surety.
Miscellaneous pecuniary losses.
1. Employment Risks;
2. Revenue Shortfall (General);
3. Bad weather;
4. Loss of earnings;
5. Persistent overhead;
6. Unforeseen business expenses ;
7. Loss of market value;
8. Loss of rent or income;
9. Indirect business losses other than those mentioned above ;
10. Non-business pecuniary losses;
11. Other pecuniary losses.
Legal protection.
Assistance.
1. Assistance to persons in difficulty during travel or absence from home or permanent residence;
2. Assistance in other circumstances.

b. Life" activity group

Non-funded life insurance with the exception of marriage and birth insurance.
Non-investment fund nuptiality and natality insurance.
Life insurance, marriage and birth insurance linked to investment funds.
The insurance practiced in Ireland and the United Kingdom, called "permanent Heath Insurance" (long-term, non-cancellable health insurance).
The tontine operations.
Capitalization operations.
Management of collective pension funds.
Operations as referred to in Book IV, Title 4, Chapter I of the French Insurance Code.
Operations dependent on the length of human life, as defined or provided for by social insurance legislation, when they are carried out or managed in accordance with the legislation of a Member State by insurance companies at their own risk.

4. Compensation policy

In accordance with AssurMifd, IDD, and other relevant laws and regulations, AVESTA Insurance is required to provide its customers with information on the nature of the compensation it receives.

Under no circumstances will AVESTA Insurance be remunerated in a way that conflicts with its obligation to act in the best interests of its clients. Thus, the advice that AVESTA Insurance employees provide in the context of the management and underwriting of insurance contracts is based on the real needs of the client. Information on the remuneration received by AVESTA Insurance can also be obtained by written request to the latter.

AVESTA Insurance works on the basis of different types of remuneration for the processing of its clients' insurance contracts:

a. On a fee basis.

In this case, AVESTA Insurance receives a fee directly from the customer. The amount of this fee is agreed with the client.

b. On a commission basis.

In this case, AVESTA Insurance receives a portion of the premium paid by the customer to the company with which he or she has taken out the policy. It is also possible that the payment of commissions by the companies to AVESTA Insurance is linked to the portfolio that AVESTA Insurance holds within the various companies with which it works.

c. Payment of remuneration to a third party.

In some cases, AVESTA Insurance may be required to pay a fee to a third party business provider. These payments are in accordance with the relevant FSMA regulations.

Furthermore, the remuneration that AVESTA Insurance employees receive is, in most cases, not linked to the development of the portfolio. They are in no way linked to the sale of a particular insurance product and do not contravene the obligation to act in the best interests of our clients.

5. Conflict of Interest Policy

a. General Framework.

Pursuant to the Law of 6 December 2018 transposing Directive (EU) 2016/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 January 2016 on the distribution of insurance, the Delegated Regulation of 21 September 2017 of the European Commission supplementing Directive (EU) 2016/97 of the Parliament and of the Council as regards information requirements and conduct of business rules applicable to the distribution of insurance-based investment products, and the Law of 4 April 2014 on insurance, AVESTA Insurance always strives to perform the entirety of the services it offers in an honest, fair and professional manner in the best interests of its clients.

To this end, and in particular to comply with the requirements of the above-mentioned laws and delegated regulation, AVESTA Insurance intends to take appropriate measures to detect conflicts of interest between itself, including its managers and staff, or any person directly or indirectly linked to them by a control relationship, and its customers or between its customers and each other.

This policy covers the following confits:

Occurring in the context of all insurance distribution activities of AVESTA Insurance companies;
Involving the risk of harming a client's interests;
Where AVESTA Insurance has an interest in the outcome of insurance distribution activities that :
- Is distinct from the interest of the client or potential client;
- Can potentially influence the outcome of distribution activities to the detriment of the customer.

b. Circumstances that give rise or may give rise to conflicts of interest.

The various circumstances listed below are examples only and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of possible situations:

AVESTA Insurance is likely to realize a financial gain or avoid a financial loss at the expense of the client;
AVESTA Insurance may have an incentive, financial or otherwise, to favour the interest of another client or group of clients over that of the client in question;
AVESTA Insurance may be heavily involved in the management or development of products, particularly when it has an influence on the pricing of these products or their distribution costs;
AVESTA Insurance has an interest in the outcome of an insurance intermediation service provided to, or transaction conducted on behalf of, the customer that is different from the customer's interest in that outcome;
AVESTA Insurance is likely to be in the same line of business as the client concerned;
AVESTA Insurance may receive from a person other than the client a benefit in connection with the insurance intermediation service provided to the client, in the form of money, goods or services, other than the commission or fee normally charged for that service.

c. The method used internally to identify conflicts of interest and their listing.

Potential conflicts of interest that may arise for AVESTA Insurance and/or any person directly or indirectly related to its structure are recorded in this Conflict of Interest Policy and in a register kept within the Compliance Committee.

Persons directly or indirectly connected with AVESTA Insurance are obliged to comply with the internal instructions on conflict of interest management policy. In particular, the register kept by the Compliance Committee is updated and adapted in line with the development of the company, the structure of the group and the various events and incidents that have occurred.

In order to identify potential conflicts of interest, AVESTA Insurance and/or any person directly or indirectly related to it shall verify in particular, but not exclusively, whether he or she is in one of the situations of conflict of interest listed in this policy. Thus, it should be verified that :

AVESTA Insurance is not likely to realize a financial gain or avoid a financial loss at the expense of the customer;
AVESTA Insurance is not likely to have any financial or other incentive to favour the interest of another client or group of clients over that of the client concerned;
AVESTA Insurance is not likely to be heavily involved in the management or development of products, particularly where it has influence over the pricing of such products or their distribution costs;
AVESTA Insurance does not have an interest in the outcome of an insurance intermediation service provided to, or transaction conducted on behalf of, the customer that is different from the customer's interest in that outcome;
AVESTA Insurance is not likely to be in the same line of business as the client concerned;
AVESTA Insurance is not likely to receive from any person other than the client any benefit in connection with the insurance intermediation service provided to the client, in the form of money, goods or services, other than the commission or fee normally charged for that service.

If this is the case, AVESTA Insurance and/or any person directly or indirectly related to it must implement appropriate procedures for managing conflicts of interest. In order to facilitate the identification of potential conflicts of interest by persons directly or indirectly related to it, AVESTA Insurance includes in its conflict of interest prevention memorandum a generic definition of what is meant by "conflicts of interest".

d. The procedures AVESTA Insurance follows and the steps it takes to prevent and manage conflicts of interest.

AVESTA Insurance ensures that procedures are in place to prevent and manage potential conflicts of interest that may affect the interests of clients. AVESTA Insurance is committed to, among other things

Implementing effective procedures to prevent or control the exchange of information between persons involved in activities involving a risk of conflict of interest when the exchange of such information may harm the interests of one or more clients. For example, in the context of the management of a claim that involves two clients of the company, the company ensures that the follow-up of the file is separated by giving the management of the file to at least two managers who will not maintain any relationship with the file during its processing. This procedure will guarantee the independence and impartiality necessary to preserve the interests of the clients concerned;
Establish separate oversight of relevant persons who, as part of their primary duties, perform activities on behalf of or provide services to clients, where the interests of those clients may conflict, or where those clients represent different interests, including those of the insurance intermediary or insurance company, that may conflict. After receiving information that a conflict of interest may arise, AVESTA's Compliance Committee will advise the persons handling the files that may give rise to such a conflict of interest of the appropriate behaviour. The persons concerned must therefore refrain from discussing these files for the duration of their processing. A memo from the Compliance Committee has been sent to all AVESTA Insurance employees. This memo will be sent to all new AVESTA Insurance employees as soon as they join the company, together with the above-mentioned policy. This policy prescribes the behaviour to be adopted in the event of conflicts of interest;
Ensuring the elimination of any direct link between payments, including remuneration, made to relevant persons engaged in one activity and payments, including remuneration, made to other relevant persons engaged primarily in another activity, where a conflict of interest may arise in connection with such activities. AVESTA Insurance does not pay any remuneration other than that agreed in the employment contracts or agreements to which it is a party. No exception is made for the payment of any remuneration that is directly or indirectly caused by a conflict of interest;
To put in place measures to prevent or limit the exercise of inappropriate influence by any person on the manner in which insurance distribution activities are carried out by the insurance intermediary or the insurance company or by their managers or employees or any person directly or indirectly linked to them by a control relationship. To this end, AVESTA Insurance, through its Compliance Committee, has drawn up a memorandum for its staff and managers detailing the behaviour to be adopted as soon as a situation of possible conflict of interest is brought to their attention. This memorandum mentions the obligation for employees and managers to refrain from creating or maintaining situations that are likely to give rise or have given rise to potential conflicts of interest without notifying the Compliance Committee. A procedure for communicating with the AVESTA Insurance compliance committee is also described in order to deal with potential conflicts of interest as effectively as possible;
Implement measures to prevent or control the simultaneous or consecutive participation of a person concerned in separate insurance distribution activities, where such participation is likely to be detrimental to the proper management of conflicts of interest. To this end, AVESTA Insurance requires all persons concerned to inform the Compliance Committee of any potential conflicts of interest they may encounter, by means of an explicit statement in the memorandum sent to its staff and managers. This information is provided using the form in Appendix 1 of the above-mentioned memorandum;
Establish a gifts and benefits policy that clearly defines the conditions under which gifts and benefits may be accepted or given and the steps that must be taken when gifts or benefits are accepted or given. For example, AVESTA Insurance's compensation policy states that only gifts or benefits of a reasonable value may be accepted or granted by employees, officers or the company itself. An officer must approve when gifts or benefits are about to be accepted or given. If the acceptance or giving of such gifts or benefits would violate the legal obligation to perform the entirety of its services honestly, fairly and professionally in the best interests of its customers, they must be declined or not given.

e. The method of informing clients, if any.

Where AVESTA Insurance's organizational or administrative arrangements for preventing and managing conflicts of interest are not sufficient to ensure, with reasonable certainty, that the risk of harm to the client's interests will be avoided, AVESTA Insurance will inform the client in writing or in another durable medium, before acting on the client's behalf, of the general nature and/or source of such conflicts of interest, the risks to the client of the conflict of interest, and the steps taken to mitigate such risks. Where appropriate, AVESTA Insurance will make clear that the organizational and administrative arrangements it has established to prevent or manage the conflict of interest are not sufficient to ensure, with reasonable certainty, that the risk of harm to the client's interests will be avoided.

The final choice of the follow-up reserved for the situation which is at the root of the conflict of interest concerned belongs to the client.

If a specific conflict of interest cannot be resolved, AVESTA Insurance reserves the right to refuse the customer's request solely to protect their interests.

f. Conflict of Interest Registry.

AVESTA Insurance maintains (as an appendix to this policy), and regularly updates, a record of situations in which a conflict of interest involving a risk of harm to a client's interests has arisen or, in the case of an ongoing service or activity, may arise.

AVESTA Insurance officers will receive, at frequent intervals and at least annually, written reports of potential conflicts of interest.

AVESTA Insurance is committed to periodically evaluating and reviewing, at least on an annual basis, the conflict of interest policy set forth herein.