Projet de loi modifiant la loi du 9 juillet 1975 relative au contrôle des entreprises d'assurances en ce qui concerne la fusion par absorption des associations d'assurances mutuelles.
General information ¶
- Authors
-
LE
Melchior
Wathelet
MR François Bellot
Open Vld Alfons Borginon
PS | SP Thierry Giet
Vooruit Annemie Roppe, Dirk Van der Maelen - Submission date
- Jan. 11, 2007
- Official page
- Visit
- Status
- Adopted
- Requirement
- Simple
- Subjects
- merger company law insurance insurance company
Voting ¶
- Voted to adopt
- Vooruit Ecolo LE PS | SP Open Vld MR
Party dissidents ¶
- Ingrid Meeus (Open Vld) voted to adopt.
- Ingrid Meeus (Open Vld) voted to adopt.
Contact form ¶
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Discussion ¶
March 29, 2007 | Plenary session (Chamber of representatives)
Full source
Rapporteur Anne-Marie Baeke ⚙
I refer to my written report.
François Bellot MR ⚙
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Minister, dear colleagues, equal opportunities, entrepreneurial spirit, the freedom and responsibility that it accompanies, the respect for the choice of each are values dear to my group. I believe that they should guide all our parliamentary action and, in particular, our legislative task.
The law of 1975, which we wish to amend by the text presented to you, governs insurance companies in the broad sense and specifies that they can be created in three forms.
The first two – the joint-stock company and the cooperative company – are forms of commercial companies to which, of course, all the regulations applicable to commercial companies apply.
The third possible form is the association of mutual insurance. The concept of mutual insurance is typically opposed to that of premium insurance. The first is a group of persons who agree to put together a risk to which they are personally subject in order to share among themselves the burden of the sinisters. In the other case, a commercial company concludes a series of individual contracts with different persons subject to a certain risk and promises to compensate them in the event of a disaster and in exchange for the payment of fixed premiums, the insured is himself foreign to the risk.
The requirements for financial solidity, solvency margin and economic capital aimed at insurance undertakings, and guaranteed by the Banking, Financial and Insurance Commission, are increasingly strict. But, as I have said, the peculiarity of the structure of mutual insurance associations does not allow them to easily open themselves to capital, their financing coming almost exclusively from the premiums paid by the members.
In order to respect freedom of enterprise, equal opportunities and choice, it was appropriate to provide them with the same tools as insurance undertakings subject to the regime of commercial companies in order to carry out operations that could strengthen their structure. In particular, the rules defined by the Company Code on merger-absorption should be applied to mutual insurance associations.
That is why the bill thus makes applicable to the merger by absorption of mutual insurance associations, Book XI of the Code of Companies applicable to other legal forms of organization of insurance undertakings, with certain adjustments made necessary by the organization itself of mutual insurance associations, neither more nor less.
My concern and that of my colleagues authors of the text was to remedy the inequality between insurance companies in order to guarantee to all the same legal tools to grow. All this in the end is in the interest of a better offer on the insurance market that will also benefit individuals.
I find especially displaced the intention trials that some have not hesitated to lend me on the supposed omnipotent influence of the sector. It is obvious that a rigorous working methodology involves consulting the first interested in the proposed reform. This is pure common sense.
In conclusion, my colleagues, this technical text is only intended to put all actors in the insurance world on an equal footing in terms of mergers and absorptions. I ask you to support him.