Terms of engagement

These terms of engagement apply each time you appoint ABIL Luxembourg or ABIL Belgium (further “ABIL”) as your insurance broker. By doing business with us you accept these terms of engagement on your own behalf and, as applicable, on behalf of any of your affiliates (including subsidiaries) to which the contemplated insurance applies.

INFORMATION ABOUT ABIL LUXEMBOURG AND ABIL BELGIUM

Advisory, Brokerage and Insurance Leaders S.A. (“ABIL Luxembourg”) is a limited liability company having its registered
office at 163, route d’Arlon, L-8009 Strassen, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, registered with the Luxembourg Trade & Companies Register under number B 209.748, authorized by the Commissariat aux Assurances as insurance broker under number 2016CM010 (visit www.caa.lu/fr/operateurs/intermediaires/societe-de-courtage for more information) and represented by Mr Philippe Goutière in his capacity as executive director (tel +352 44 52 53 25 ; email: p.goutiere@abilinsurance.com).

Advisory, Brokerage and Insurance Leaders Belgium SRL (“ABIL Belgium”) is a limited liability company having its registered office at 65, avenue Prekelinden, 1200 Brussels, Belgium, registered with the Belgian CBE under number 0798.317.918, authorized by the FSMA as insurance broker (visit www.fsma.be/fr/intermediaire-dassurances for more information) and represented by Mr Alessandro Guarrata in his capacity as executive director (mob +32 473 300 024; email: a.guarrata@abilinsurance.com).

ABIL Belgium is a fully owned subsidiary of ABIL Luxembourg and both entities are in a commercial relationship whereby one may eventually work as subcontractor for the other, depending on their respective levels of specialization. The terms “ABIL”, “we”, “our”, “us” or alike in the present terms of engagement shall automatically encompass ABIL Luxembourg and ABIL Belgium each time that such companies render services to you when you appoint ABIL Luxembourg or ABIL Belgium as your insurance broker.

ASSOCIATED COMPANIES

Assurances Consulting Courtage S.A. (ACC) is a Luxembourg based insurance broker (Luxembourg RCS B80345) represented by Mr. Thierry Vinaschi and authorized by the Commissariat aux Assurances under number 2002CM007.

Assurances Consulting Intermédiaires (ACI) is a Luxembourg based insurance broker (Luxembourg RCS B197372) represented by Mr. Pierre Was and authorized by the Commissariat aux Assurances under number 2015CM005.

IBA Partners (IBA) is a Luxembourg based insurance broker (Luxembourg RCS B235167) represented by Mr. Gaëtan Evrard and authorized by the Commissariat aux Assurances under number 2019CM009.

Nacora (Luxemborug) S.à r.l. (Nacora) is a Luxembourg based insurance broker (Luxembourg RCS B187718) represented by Ms. Virginie de Curtis and authorized by the Commissariat aux Assurances under number 2014CM006.

BCDT & Associés S.A. (BCDT), an insurance broker based in Switzerland (Trade Register CHE-109.291.614) represented by Mr. Sébastien Courvoisier and Miss Stéphanie Pierret.

ACC, ACI, IBA, Nacora and BCDT are all referred to as “Associated Companies”. They are in a commercial relationship with ABIL whereby one may eventually work as subcontractor for the other, depending on their respective levels of specialization. The terms “ABIL”, “we”, “our”, “us” or alike in the present terms of engagement shall automatically also encompass the
Associated Companies, and the present terms of engagement shall apply to the services rendered by such Associated Companies to you on behalf of ABIL when you appoint ABIL.

MAIN DUTIES OF ABIL

Our duty shall be to provide insurance intermediation services as you may expect to receive from a professional and regulated counterparty. In accordance with the mandate that you have given us, our duties shall include:

  • Provide insurance intermediation services. We determine your demands and needs, select one or more insurers that are most appropriate to cover your risks and negotiate the terms and conditions of your insurance policies, it being understood that the final decision always remain yours;
  • Manage insurances. We proactively manage your renewing insurance policies and, where appropriate, suggest changes to the setup;
  • Inform and advise. We hold ourselves to the rule that the information we provide is correct, clear and not misleading. Our advice is based on an impartial and personal analysis of the offers received and your particular situation;
  • Be independent. As an insurance broker, our office only represents our clients and operates outside of any exclusive agency agreement or other legal commitment that directly or indirectly requires us to place all or a specific portion of our production with one or more insurance companies or that prevents us from freely choosing an insurance company. Our only obligation is to uphold the interests of our clients.

Our services will never include the provision of accountancy, legal, taxation or other specialized advice or assistance (other than insurance brokerage services or insurance related advisory services).

MAIN DUTIES OF THE CLIENT

  • Information. You must diligently communicate to ABIL each document and information which is reasonably indispensable for the provision of our services. As required by law, you must present the risk fairly and proactively disclose any relevant information;
  • Compliance. You must comply with the terms and conditions of your insurance policy. Failure to do so could result in your policy being cancelled and or in a claim not being paid;
  • Premium. You must pay the premiums in accordance with the amounts and payment dates specified on the invoices.
    Lack of (timely) premium payment could lead to absence of cover;
  • Duty to check and inform yourself. You must familiarize yourself with the terms and conditions of your policy. You
    must check all documentation to ensure there are no mistakes or misunderstandings;
  • Record keeping. You must retain the full file with respect to each policy for as long as it is possible to make a claim
    under that policy and for as long as a claim is pending under that policy;
  • Claims. In the event of an incident which could give rise to a claim, you must tell us as soon as possible. If you do not, an insurer may refuse to deal with your claim or reduce the coverage.

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ABIL AND THE CLIENT

In case you have communicated your e-mail address to us, and to the fullest extent permitted by law, we may send any ordinary or registered letters by way of an e-mail to you or by way of a PDF-document attached to an e-mail.

Unless you explicitly instruct us not to do so, we may take the initiative to contact you per e-mail and provide you with risk & insurance related information pertinent to your situation.

We do not provide archiving services to our clients or to any other party. You should keep yourself an identical and nonmodified copy of any communication with us.

We can not guarantee (complete) confidentiality and integrity of data and/or documents sent by e-mail and accept no liability
for damages whatsoever related to data and/or documents communicated by e-mail.

We can not guarantee that your instructions have been received unless we have acknowledged them in writing.

REMUNERATION, INDUCEMENTS & CONFLICTS OF INTEREST POLICIES

As a standard way of working, we are remunerated by commissions paid by the insurers out of the premium charged to the policyholder as long as the policy is in place. We may however agree with you to work, fully or partially, on a fee-based compensation model whereby the fees are paid by you directly to us based on an engagement letter determining the exact scope of the services provided by us and the corresponding fees. Other than such remuneration, no other costs are payable by the insured unless otherwise explicitly specified in a separate letter.

Irrespective of whether we are remunerated by commissions or by fees, we follow strict inducement & conflicts of interest policies with the aim to always put the client’s interest at the first place. Under no circumstances shall ABIL accept to receive contingent commissions from insurers, i.e. commissions paid by insurers to intermediaries meeting specific goals regarding the volume or the profitability of insurance policies placed with them during a given time period.

CONFIDENTIALITY and PROFESSIONAL SECRECY

We are subject to strict rules on professional confidentiality, according in particular to article 300 of the Luxembourg law of 7/12/2015 on Insurance Sector. We do not disclose any client related information except in the circumstances provided for in the law, our professional regulation or upon the instruction of the client.

No professional secrecy obligation exists as regards the communication of confidential information to (re-) insurance companies and other insurance professionals, banking institutions, or professionals of the financial sector when such communication is strictly necessary within the framework of a contract for services.

In addition, you hereby irrevocably authorize and instruct us to lift any professional secrecy and share your data with our associated companies and service providers (including but not limited to accounting companies, digital messaging providers, IT service providers, brokers, advisors, claims adjusters …) located in Luxembourg, Belgium or in foreign countries that do not offer a level of protection equivalent to the level of protection granted in Luxembourg or Belgium, when this communication is required or useful to perform our services, improve efficiency or satisfy legal and regulatory obligations prior, during or after the conclusion of an insurance policy. The present consent/instruction shall remain in full force and effect as long as you maintain a relationship with us, and data which felt within the scope of – or was transferred by virtue of this consent/instruction – prior to such termination will remain subject to this consent/instruction. The current list of service providers for the purposes of this clause is : Computerland SLM S.A., Belgium – Support IT; Microsoft Corporation, EU – Outlook; CBC Informatique – emails; SimplyCIT, Luxembourg – Gestion Odoo; Portima SCRL – CRM; CConcept, Luxembourg – Website; FKP Services S.A., Luxembourg – Comptabilité ; Fiduciaire Denis Soumann, Luxembourg – Commissaire aux Comptes.

PERSONAL DATA

The personal data which you have provided to ABIL will be processed as set out in our Privacy Policy.

LIMITATION OF OUR LIABILITY

The following provisions set out our entire financial liability (including any liability for the acts or omissions of our employees, directors, Associated Companies, partners, managers, agents and subcontractors when acting on behalf of ABIL):

  • our liability shall be strictly limited to established direct damages resulting from gross negligence, willful misconduct or fraud in the execution of our mission. In no event shall we be liable for any loss of profit, indirect, special, consequential, incidental loss or damage or punitive damages;
  • we are not responsible for damages made to you and deriving from the occurrence of a case of absolute necessity, a measure taken by any public authority and in particular a change of legislation;
  • despite our best efforts to select appropriate counterparties, under no circumstance shall we guarantee the solvability of an insurer;
  • we are not responsible for the correct application and interpretation of the terms and conditions of an insurance contract by the insurers, including when we negotiate, on behalf of the insured, specific clauses or extensions, or when we associate our name and logo to an insurance contract;
  • no person other than either ABIL Luxembourg or ABIL Belgium (depending on the entity receiving the brokerage mandate) may be held liable in connection with services provided; and
  • ABIL total aggregate and cumulative liability towards the client, its subsidiaries and any affiliates, as well as the policyholder or any insured for the entire mission will be strictly limited to maximum 1,310,000 EUR (if you appoint ABIL Luxembourg) or 1,250,000 EUR (if you appoint ABIL Belgium) in respect of any one claim or series of related claims.

PARTIAL VALIDITY

If any part of these terms of engagement is or becomes illegal, invalid or unenforceable then that part shall be deemed to be removed from these terms and shall not in any way affect the legality, validity or enforceability of the remaining terms.

GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION

When you appoint ABIL Luxembourg, these terms of engagement, and the services provided, shall be governed by Luxembourg law, and any dispute shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of courts of Luxembourg Ville.

When you appoint ABIL Belgium, these terms of engagement, and the services provided, shall be governed by Belgian law, and any dispute shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of courts of Brussels (Belgium).

TERMINATION

You may terminate the brokerage contract with ABIL at any time. In this case, we shall be entitled to keep any remuneration received to that date, and to receive any remuneration due to that date but not yet paid, including those relating to premium instalments not yet paid and covering the period of insurance in progress at the date of termination.

We reserve the right to resign as your insurance broker at any time.

COMPLAINTS

Should you wish to register a complaint, you can contact your regular contact at ABIL. For any further contact details, we refer to our website: www.abilinsurance.com.

A complaint may also be registered with the relevant Insurance Regulator: Commissariat aux Assurances (CAA), 11 rue Robert Stumper, L-2557 Luxembourg, Tel : 22 69 11 -1 – Fax : 22 69 10, e-mail : caa@caa.lu // FSMA – Contact Consommateurs – Rue du Congrès 12-14, 1000 Bruxelles (https://www.fsma.be/en/contact)