Terms and Conditions

The insurance contract consists of all of the following documents:

- the insurance application and any questionnaires setting out the characteristics of the insurance and enabling the insured risk to be assessed. The insurance application is signed by the policyholder and the insuree(s) ;

- the terms and conditions of insurance defining the rights and obligations of each party ;

- the special conditions specific to each contract, containing in particular risk assessment elements relating to the policyholder, the insuree, the guarantees covered, the sums insured, the duration of the contract, ...

- any amendments subsequent to the signing of the contract, recording any changes made to the contract.

In the event of the death of the insuree before the end of the insurance contract, the insurer shall pay the beneficiary the amount mentioned in the special conditions.

The contract is formed by the signature of the special conditions by the policyholder and the insurer.

The insurance contract takes effect on the date indicated in the special conditions and for the duration specified therein, but not before payment of the first premium.

The effects of the contract cease on the day following the dates indicated in the special conditions at midnight.

The policyholder of an individual life insurance contract may renounce the effects of the insurance contract within 30 calendar days from the day on which he is informed that the contract has been concluded.

If the life insurance contract was taken out to guarantee the repayment of a loan granted by a credit institution in the event of the death of the borrower, the waiver period provided for in the previous paragraph shall be reduced to 15 days.

The waiver, sent to the insurer by registered letter, has the effect of releasing the parties for the future from any obligation arising from the contract.

In both cases, the insurer reimburses the premium paid, less the portion of the premium used to cover the risk and the expenses incurred for medical acceptance, upon receipt of the original contract.

The written declarations of the policyholder and the insuree form the basis of the contract. The latter must accurately state all the circumstances that constitute elements of risk assessment for the insurer.
The policyholder is responsible for the accuracy of the declarations made by the insuree.

In the event of an intentional omission or misstatement in the declaration of risk assessment elements which may mislead the insurer, the insurance contract shall be null and void and the premiums due up to the time when the insurer became aware of the intentional omission or misstatement shall remain due to the insurer.

In the event of unintentional omissions or inaccuracies, the insurer may, within one year of the contract taking effect, propose to amend or cancel it if he proves that he would not have insured the risk under any circumstances or if the proposal to amend the contract has not been accepted by the policyholder.

If the inaccuracy relates to the insuree's date of birth and/or age, the insurer will adjust the benefits provided using the tariff corresponding to the insuree's actual age.

The policyholder and the insuree are obliged to declare during the performance of the contract any changes in significant and lasting circumstances relating to the risk of occurrence of the insured event, other than those linked to changes in the insuree's state of health, in particular those relating to:

- the insuree's change of professional activity;

- a change in the sports or leisure activities practised by the insuree.

In the event of a change in circumstances such that the insurer would have consented to the insurance only under conditions other than those existing, he may, within a period of one month from the day on which he became aware of the change, propose an amendment to the contract with retroactive effect to the day on which the risk worsened.

If the insurer proves that he would not have insured the increased risk under any circumstances, or if the proposal to amend the contract has not been accepted by the policyholder, he may cancel the contract within the same time limit.

Insurance cover is granted irrespective of where the risk occurs, provided that the policyholder and the insuree are domiciled in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg.

In return for the insurer's commitments, the policyholder shall pay the premiums or fractions of premiums, the amount and payment period of which are specified in the special conditions.

Premiums are payable on the dates agreed in the special conditions.

At each due date, the insurer sends the policyholder a payment notice indicating the amount of the premium.

Premiums are payable at the insurer's domicile, within 10 days of their due date.

If a premium or part of a premium remains unpaid within 10 days of its due date, the insurer shall send a registered letter of formal notice to the policyholder, at the latter's last known address, reminding him of the premium due date, the amount of unpaid premiums and the consequences of non-payment.

In the event of non-payment of the premium within 30 days from the day following the deposit of the registered letter in the post office, the insurer shall proceed to:

- to the reduction of the guarantees of the insurance contract; or

- the termination of the contract by payment of the cash surrender value, if applicable.

If the policyholder informs the insurer, in writing, of his decision to stop paying premiums under the contract, after the due date of an unpaid premium, or to request a refund or reduction, the insurer is exempt from formal notice.

This declaration interrupts the time limit as of the date of this writing.

The insurer reserves the right to charge the policyholder 10€ for sending a registered letter.

The insurer reserves the right to include a 25€ adjustment fee in its calculation for each technical adjustment to the insurance contract requested by the policyholder.

This fee will be deducted from the notional surrender value of the principal guarantee at the time of adjustment or incorporated into the first new premium.

All additional costs, present or future, such as taxes, contributions, etc. which are or may become payable under the insurance contract are to be borne by the policyholder and must be paid at the same time as the premiums.

The amounts included in these general terms and conditions are indexed in accordance with the Belgian consumer price health index (base 1988 = 100). The index used will be that of the second month of the quarter preceding the date of the operation.

There is no coverage when the death of the insuree is the consequence of:

- a suicide that occurred within the first year following the conclusion of the contract or the reinstatement of the insurance contract. In the event of suicide of the insuree less than one year after an increase in benefits, only the increase in benefits will not be covered by the insurance;

- an intentional act by or at the instigation of the policyholder, the insuree, one of the beneficiaries or any other person having, directly or indirectly, an interest in the contract;

- a death sentence or the consequences of a misdemeanour or crime committed intentionally by the insuree as a perpetrator or co-perpetrator and whose consequences he could foresee;

- an aviation accident if the insuree is a member of the flight crew, if the aircraft was not authorised to transport persons or goods, on board a military aircraft unless the aircraft was used to transport persons at the time of the accident, if the aircraft was transporting goods of a strategic nature in hostile or enemy areas, during the preparation for or participation in sports events, during the performance of test flights, accidents with microlight aircraft (ULM);

- of a foreign or civil war. This exclusion is extended to any death when the insuree actively participates in the hostilities;

- a stay of the insuree in a country where an armed conflict is taking place and the insuree takes an active part in the hostilities;

- the fact that the insuree is travelling to a country where there is an armed conflict. The policyholder may obtain war risk cover, provided that he pays an additional premium, that this is explicitly mentioned in the special conditions and provided that the insuree does not take an active part in the hostilities;

- riots, even if uncoordinated, violent demonstrations, civil disturbances, acts of terrorism, all acts of collective violence, whether politically, ideologically or socially motivated, whether or not accompanied by rebellion against the authority or all powers established, if the insuree took an active and voluntary part in them;

- the radioactive, toxic and explosive properties of nuclear fuels or radioactive wastes;

- bungee jumping into the void;

Unless otherwise agreed and subject to the payment of an additional premium, the insurance does not cover the death of the insuree if it results from:

- an accident involving an air navigation aircraft in which he was a pilot or crew member;

- the use of air navigation equipment for the purpose of competitions or exhibitions, speed trials, raids, training flights, records or record attempts, as well as during any attempt to participate in any of these activities;

- the exercise of a risky sporting activity such as hang-gliding, parasailing or self-opening parachuting.

In the cases of non-coverage listed above, the insurer pays the theoretical surrender value calculated on the day of death and limited to the insured death benefit.

These benefits are paid to the designated beneficiaries, excluding the beneficiary whose intentional act or instigation would be the cause of the insuree's death.

The policyholder may designate one or more beneficiaries.

The beneficiary attribution may be changed at the written request of the policyholder, unless the originally designated beneficiary has accepted the stipulation made in respect of him/her by means of a written declaration.

In this case, the policyholder must obtain the consent of the beneficiary for this change. The policyholder must obtain the consent of the insuree if he is different from the policyholder.

Except in the case of insurance contracts with constant periodic premiums payable for more than half of the term of the insurance contract or unless prohibited by a law or regulation applicable to the insurance contract, the policyholder is entitled at any time to surrender or reduce his insurance contract where the surrender value is positive.

Surrender consists of the cancellation of the contract with payment of the surrender value by the insurer.

The theoretical surrender value is the reserve constituted with the insurer by the capitalisation of the premiums paid, less the portion of the premium intended to cover the insured risks and costs.

The surrender value is equal to the theoretical surrender value, calculated on the date of the surrender request, less a surrender compensation equal to 5% of the theoretical surrender value with a minimum of 75€ indexed in accordance with the provisions of article 8.2.

The surrender indemnity decreases by 1% during the last five years of the guarantee to reach 0% at the end of the last guarantee year.

The surrender value is calculated in accordance with the technical note prepared by the insurer.

The surrender value thus calculated can never exceed the sum insured in the event of death at the time of surrender.

The excess, if any, of the cash surrender value is used as a pure single premium to form a deferred lump sum with no back insurance payable on the life of the insuree at the normal maturity of the policy.

Where the surrender value is negative or nil at the time of its calculation, the contract is cancelled without any payment being made.

If there is a right to surrender, it must be requested by the policyholder in writing, dated and signed, addressed to the insurer and accompanied by the insurance contract, any endorsements, a copy of his valid identity card and the written agreement of the beneficiary accepting the surrender.

The surrender is effective at the time the policyholder gives his written consent to the payment of the surrender value.

The surrender value is calculated on the date the surrender request is received.

The right to surrender does not exist for deferred capital insurance without premium refunds.

The policyholder may reinstate the surrendered insurance contract for the insured amount on the surrender date within a period of 3 months starting from the surrender.

For the surrendered insurance contract, reinstatement is effected by transferring the surrender value to the insurer and by adjusting the premium to take account of the theoretical surrender value at the time of surrender.

Within 3 years, a reduced insurance contract can be reinstated for the insured benefit on the date of the reduction.

The reinstatement under the surrendered or reduced insurance contract is done by adjusting the premium, taking into account the age of the insuree and the theoretical surrender value acquired at the time of reinstatement of the insurance contract.

In both cases (surrender or reduction), reinstatement is subject to favourable acceptance of the risk (medical examinations), the costs of which are borne by the policyholder.

At any time, the policyholder may ask the insurer in writing to assign all or part of the rights arising from the contract.

In the event of acceptance of the benefit by the beneficiary, the exercise of the transfer right is subject to the approval of the accepting beneficiary.

The rights arising from the insurance contract may only be assigned by means of an endorsement signed by the insurer, the policyholder (assignor) and the assignee. The consent of the insuree is also required.

The declaration must be made to the insurer within 30 days of the occurrence of the loss.

The beneficiary or rightful claimant shall receive a claim form from the insurer at the first request. This form, duly dated, signed and completed in accordance with the instructions contained therein, must be returned to the insurer.

The insurer shall not be relieved of his obligation to deal with the claim if it can be proved that it was not possible to report the claim within the time limit laid down because of force majeure and that the insurer has not suffered any loss as a result of this late reporting.

The insurer reserves the right to carry out any investigation necessary to assess the payment of the claim.

The insuree explicitly authorises the doctors who treated him/her to communicate all information concerning his/her state of health to the insurer's medical advisor.

The insurer shall pay the insured benefits, against a receipt addressed to the beneficiary(ies), within 30 days of receipt of all the documents listed below:

- the signed special conditions and possible amendments;

- proof of payment of the last premium due;

- a copy of the valid identity card of the beneficiary(ies);

- a copy of the death certificate;

- a medical certificate mentioning the circumstances and cause of death, drawn up by the doctor(s) who treated the insuree during his last illness or by the doctor who certified the death;

- a deed of notoriety indicating the qualities and rights of the beneficiaries when they have not been designated by name;

- the claim.

The insurance ends:

- on the date specified in the special conditions;

- upon the death of the insuree;

- at the time the policyholder agrees to the payment of the requested surrender value;

- when premiums that have fallen due are no longer paid;

- in the event of cancellation of the insurance contract by the policyholder by registered letter.

When taking out the insurance contract, the policyholder has the choice between a guaranteed rate for the entire duration of the insurance contract or a guaranteed rate for the first three years of insurance.

The choice of the second option is mentioned in the special conditions and the insurer reserves the right, in this case, to adapt the current rate of the insurance contract for the first time on the third anniversary of the entry into force of the insurance contract included in the special conditions.

The raate may only be revised collectively if the insurer finds that the new mortality statistics differ significantly from those used in the raate or if the legislation or the competent supervisory bodies require a raate revision. This revision may mean a decrease or an increase in the rate.

In the event of an increase, the policyholder will be informed in writing. He then has 30 days to refuse the rate adjustment.

The insurer will consider the adaptation of the insurance contract to the new rate as accepted if no reaction is received within thirty days.

If the policyholder refuses the adjustment, the insurance contract will be terminated. This cancellation will take effect on the next annual contract expiry date.

The policyholder may at any time request the adjustment of his insurance contract. An increase in the insured risks is subject to the conditions of acceptance in force at the time of the request.

Costs relating to transfers of sums between the insurer's bank accounts and those of the policyholder or the beneficiary(ies) shall be borne by the policyholder or the beneficiary(ies) respectively.

The insurance contract does not provide for benefits in the event of the life of the insuree at the end of the contract and the insurer does not participate in the existing beneficiary participation plan for insurance contracts concluded in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg with beneficiary participation.

The insurer reserves the right to recover from the policyholder any compensation unduly paid on the basis of these conditions.

Any communication from the policyholder relating to the insurance contract must be addressed to the insurer in writing.

The policyholder's domicile is automatically elected at the address given in the special conditions. Any notification by the insurer shall be validly made to this address or to the last address notified to the insurer.

If the policyholder changes his place of residence, he must inform the insurer in writing as soon as possible.

All taxes, duties and contributions, present or future, applicable to sums due or to be due, shall be borne by the policyholder, his assigns or beneficiary(ies).

Any taxes and charges applicable to the benefits shall be determined by the law of the country of residence of the beneficiary and/or by the law of the country of the source of income.

The tax legislation of the country of residence of the deceased and/or the law of the country of residence of the beneficiary(ies) shall apply to inheritance tax.

If, despite the Insurer's efforts, the policyholder has not received a satisfactory response, he is invited to submit his complaints in writing to the Insurer's 'Quality & Control' department.

He may also contact the mediation body set up on the initiative of the Association des Compagnies d'Assurances et de l'Union Luxembourgeoise des Consommateurs or the Commissariat aux Assurances, without prejudice to the possibility of taking legal action.

The insurance contract is subject to the Luxembourg legal and regulatory provisions governing life insurance.

Only the Luxembourg courts are competent to settle disputes arising from the application of this insurance contract.

Any action deriving from this contract shall be time-barred after a period of three years from the day on which the beneficiary becomes aware of the existence of the contract, of his status as beneficiary and of the occurrence of the event on which the payment of insurance benefits depends.

The French language version of this Agreement shall be controlling in all respects and shall prevail in case of any inconsistencies with this English version, if any.