"Law of 3 May 2024 on various provisions concerning the economy" contains amendments to the Insurance Act of 2014

Last 31 May, a law on ‘various provisions’, one of many such laws tabled by the federal government in the final months of this legislature, was published in the Official Gazette: the law of 3 May 2024 on various provisions concerning the economy. It sets out various amendments to the Code of Economic Law and the Social Criminal Code, as well as to a range of separate laws – including the Insurance Act of 4 April 2014, notably (see Chapter 8, Artt. 66-75):

🔸 in Article 23, which requires “the general, specific and special terms and conditions, the insurance contracts as a whole, as well as all separate clauses” to be written “in clear and precise terms”, the wording is amended to “(…) as well as all other clauses making up the terms of the insurance contract”, to also include any policy terms set out in supporting documentation (e.g. in the profit-sharing or management regulations of the underlying investment fund of a unit-linked life insurance product).

🔸provisions re. the processing of personal data by intermediaries or the insurer when switching to a new insurer.

🔸a new Article 121/1 is inserted regulating the terms and modalities of an on-site expert investigation or investigation conducted by an expert appointed by the insured.

🔸the scope of Article 197/1, which applies to all methods of termination of life insurance contracts, is widened to include the partial surrender of such contracts.

🔸a new Article 267/2 sets out an obligation for (re)insurance brokers or agents, to the effect that if the latter have well-founded doubts as to the compliance with registration conditions by a (re)insurance subagent or ancillary insurance intermediary on whom they rely or have relied, these elements are to be communicated immediately to the FSMA.

🔸a clause is inserted in Article 311 re. the removal, upon prior notice, of an intermediary from the registry by the FSMA when the latter establishes that the cooperation between a (tied) insurance agent and (an) insurance undertaking(s), or between an insurance subagent and an insurance broker/agent, is terminated.

🔸additional provisions in Article 322, regulating the ombudsman's service and the out-of-court settlement of complaints, e.g. the suspension of the limitation period referenced in Article 88 upon due receipt of a complete application for an out-of-court settlement.

Note also the amendments to the law of 3 October 2022 on various labour provisions, relating to the compulsory insurance against accidents at work for digital platform workers: the relevant insurers are tasked, within 12 months following the provision’s entry into force, with the establishment (and financing) of a “Work injury fund for self-employed digital platform workers” to intervene when insurance cover is lacking, i.e. when the insurance obligation has been neglected or in the event of insolvency.

Full text: https://lnkd.in/ebp8KqaS

Questions? Contact Sandra Lodewijckx