1 General Principles
Insurance Agent professionally conduct insurance mediator, consulting and management activities aimed at covering risks and fulfilling people's and organizations' insurance needs. In conducting his activities, and in order to guarantee consumers' interests and, rights, Agent must:
1. Treat the information they have come to know with due confidentiality, and, in particular, fully comply with Law n. 675 of 31 December 1996, and refrain from asking potential clients' consent beyond those strictly necessary for insurance purposes.
2. Take continuous care that training and the training of his staff is constantly up-to-date, and be available to improve the training of new agents.
3. Organize and manage his agency under his full responsibility and at his own charge, without ever forfeiting his freedom of action.
4. Cooperate with the organizations in charge of insurance activities and market surveillance, and notify eventual procedures and prescriptions violating the fullest possible satisfaction of people's and organizations' insurance needs.
5. Report the behavior of companies resulting in direct or indirect refusal to stipulate compulsory insurance, prompt and fair payment of claims, and equal treatment of clients without any discrimination whatsoever.
6. Work for the respect of the following clients' rights by insurance companies:
- right to be informed
- right to clear contracts
- right to professional capability
- right to insurance services
- right to refund of claims
- right to prevention
- right to reciprocity
- right to fair treatment
Agent shall maintain, in fulfilling their duties, the highest standards of ethics, and honesty, and shall behave in a dignified, proper and transparent manner. He shall, therefore, refrain from acquiring contracts through means incompatible with the decorum and ethics of his activity, and in particular, should he hold public offices, he shall refrain from using them for professional purposes. They also recognize the need for a professional insurance coverage.
2 Relations with Clients
2.1 Agent must carefully evaluate his clients' (persons or companies) insurance needs according to the personal, professional and financial information acquired, and propose, in the framework of his duties, the best suited coverage; he shall also accurately inform them of contracts characteristics, including their duration, clarifying the rights and obligations originating from the insurance general and special conditions.
2.2 Agent shall supply all the information requested, as well as all the information useful to reduce the risk and complete the coverage as well as to calculate the premium, in a clear and simple way.
2.3 Agent shall inform clients of the need to notify without delay any eventual modification of the risk insured, in order to promptly update insurance coverage.
2.4 Agent shall make available to clients a service based on a high-quality administration management. He shall accurately and diligently supply their services, even after contract stipulation, regardless of the importance of the deal.
2.5 Agent shall clearly and evidently inform his clients, even using boards and posters in the agency premises, of his professional qualifications and the names of the companies represented.
He shall also engage to ensure that sub-agents and staff observe this transparence principle.
2.6 Agent shall inform clients of the existence of this Code of conduct.
3 Relations with represented Companies
3.1 Agency duties shall be handled diligently and with professional expertise, carefully selecting the risks to be undertaken, and notifying the Company represented of all the evaluation elements enabling the best and most objective estimates.
3.2 Agent is obligated to keep a suitable bookkeeping, supply the company represented with all the records relevant to the premiums collected, and to punctually remit the funds held as a consequence of his professional activities.
3.3 Agent must know all the operation modes and products of the company represented, in order to offer the best suited insurance coverage to his clients.
3.4 Agent present his clients' needs to the company represented and suggest the insurance products innovations and modifications, likely to fulfill them.
3.5 Agent shall refuse initiatives and behaviors requested or suggested by the company represented and which are in contrast with his clients' interests. Agent shall not abide by any request from the company represented, which are in contrast with the prescriptions of this Code of conduct.
4 Relations with Competitors
4.1 Agent shall use the utmost correctness in relations with colleagues and all other operators in the market, also from the standpoint of the competition.
4.2 In case of coinsurance or joint management of an insurance operation, agent shall punctually observe the agreements stipulated for the proper joint management of the operation.
Lacking them, area Collective agreements, where in force, apply.
4.3 Agent shall preliminarily try to settle any dispute arising with a colleague in a friendly manner, using all possible settlement initiatives and, failing to reach an agreement, shall preferably resort to non-ritual arbitration.
4.4 Agent is obligated to report all cases of unauthorized professional activities, and shall cooperate with the Organizations in charge of defending the interests of the profession.
Milan, 29th february 2000