Whistleblowing System and Policy
Article 1 Object
The purpose of this Whistleblowing System and Policy is to establish, under the terms and by virtue of article 8(1) of Law 93/2021 of 20 December, which approved the general regime for the protection of whistleblowers, in conjunction with the provisions of point x), paragraph 1, part II.A, of the Annex to Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons reporting breaches of Union law (Directive Whistleblower), the principles, rules and procedures that must be observed when submitting reports of offences related, directly or indirectly, to the insurance distribution activity carried out by Corbroker - Corretores de Seguros, S.A. (hereinafter referred to as Corbroker), whether they are submitted by Corbroker's employees and collaborators, its clients, policyholders, insured persons, beneficiaries or injured third parties, or by any person who expresses a legitimate interest in the report.
Article 2 Articulation with applicable legislation
The provisions of this Whistleblowing System and Policy are without prejudice to the whistleblower protection regimes provided for in the sector-specific European Union acts referred to in Part II of the Annex to Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council, or in the legislative acts implementing, transposing or complying with such acts, in particular Directive (EU) 2016/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 January 2016 on insurance distribution, and the legal regime for insurance distribution (RJDS) approved in the annex to Law no. 7/2019 of 16 January.º 7/2019, of 16 January, in particular with regard to the public disclosure of the infringement or the external infringement reporting channel made available by the Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority (ASF), under article 72 of Regulatory Rule no. 13/2020-R, of 30 December, in conjunction with article 71 of the RJDS, through the following email address denuncias@asf.com.ptThis system allows anyone who has knowledge of facts, evidence or information relating to infringements of the legislation applicable to the supervised activity to submit reports.
Article 3 Object and content of the complaint
The complaint submitted through the internal channel provided by Corbroker may concern offences committed, being committed or the commission of which can reasonably be foreseen, as well as attempts to conceal such offences.
Article 4 Whistleblower
1. Any natural person who reports an offence through the internal channel made available by Corbroker on the basis of information obtained in the course of their professional activity, regardless of the nature of this activity and the sector in which it is carried out, provided that it is directly or indirectly related to Corbroker's activity, is considered a whistleblower.
2. For the purposes of previous numberThe following can be considered whistleblowers:
a) Workers in the private, social or public sector;
b) Service providers, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers, as well as any persons acting under their supervision and direction;
c) Holders of shareholdings and persons belonging to the administrative or management bodies or supervisory bodies of legal persons, including non-executive members;
d) Volunteers and trainees, paid or unpaid.
3. The fact that the complaint of an offence is based on information obtained in the course of a professional relationship that has since ended, or during the recruitment process or other pre-contractual negotiation phase of an established or unestablished professional relationship, shall not prevent a natural person from being considered a complainant.
Article 5 Characteristics of the internal whistleblowing channel
1. The internal whistleblowing channel provided by Corbroker allows for the secure submission and follow-up of complaints, in order to guarantee the completeness, integrity and preservation of the complaint, the confidentiality of the identity or anonymity of the complainants and the confidentiality of the identity of third parties mentioned in the complaint and to prevent access by unauthorised persons.
2. The internal whistleblowing channel provided by Corbroker is operated internally, for the purposes of receiving and following up on complaints, by the Whistleblowing Officer (RTD).
3. In the situations provided for in the previous paragraph, Corbroker guarantees independence, impartiality, confidentiality, data protection, secrecy and the absence of conflicts of interest in the performance of its duties.
4. It's up to the RTD:
a) Provide all interested persons with information on the whistleblowing procedures, guaranteeing the confidentiality of the counselling and the identity of the persons;
b) Receiving and following up on complaints;
c) Provide the complainant with substantiated information on the measures planned or adopted to follow up on the complaint and request additional information if necessary.
Article 6 Form and admissibility of internal complaints
1. The internal whistleblowing channel provided by Corbroker only allows complaints to be submitted in writing, anonymously or with identification of the complainant.
2. In the event that the complainant expresses an interest in submitting a complaint verbally, they must be informed and advised to submit it in writing, through the channel identified in article 11, failing which the internal complaint will not be received and followed up.
Article 7 Following up on internal complaints
1. Corbroker notifies (if and to the extent that the whistleblower has identified a means of contact) the whistleblower within seven days, via its RTD, of the receipt of the complaint and informs them, in a clear and accessible manner, of the requirements, competent authorities and form and admissibility of the external complaint.
2. Following the complaint, Corbroker shall, through the RTD, take the appropriate internal steps to verify the allegations contained therein and, where appropriate, to put an end to the offence complained of, including by opening an internal investigation or notifying the competent authority to investigate the offence.
3. Corbroker will inform the complainant (if and to the extent that the complainant has identified a means of contact) of the measures planned or adopted to follow up on the complaint and the respective grounds, within a maximum period of three months from the date of receipt of the complaint.
4. The complainant may request, at any time, that Corbroker communicate to him/her (if and to the extent that the complainant has identified a means of contact) the result of the analysis carried out on the complaint, within 15 days of its conclusion.
Article 8 Admissibility of the external complaint
The whistleblower can only resort to external whistleblowing channels when:
a) Has reasonable grounds to believe that the offence cannot be effectively known or resolved internally by Corbroker or that there is a risk of retaliation;
b) Has initially lodged an internal complaint with Corbroker without being informed of the measures envisaged or adopted following the complaint within three months of receipt of the complaint; or
c) The offence constitutes a criminal offence or an administrative offence punishable by a fine of more than €50,000.
Article 9 Competent authorities and form of external complaint
1. External complaints shall be submitted to the authorities which, in accordance with their powers and competences, must or may have knowledge of the matter in question in the complaint, including:a) The Public Prosecutor's Office;
b) The criminal police;
c) The Bank of Portugal;
d) The independent administrative authorities, including the ASF;
e) Public institutes;
f) General inspectorates and similar bodies and other central services of the state's direct administration with administrative autonomy;
g) Local authorities; and
h) Public associations.
2. Where the complaint is lodged with an incompetent authority, it shall be forwarded ex officio to the competent authority, of which the complainant shall be notified, in which case the date of receipt of the complaint shall be deemed to be the date on which the competent authority received it.
3. In cases where there is no competent authority to deal with the complaint, or in cases where the complaint is aimed at a competent authority, it should be addressed to the National Anti-Corruption Mechanism and, if the latter is the authority in question, to the Public Prosecutor's Office, which will follow it up, namely by opening an enquiry whenever the facts described in the complaint constitute a criminal offence.
4. If the offence is a criminal offence or an administrative offence, external complaints can always be made through the external reporting channels of the Public Prosecutor's Office or the criminal police, in the case of criminal offences, and the competent administrative authorities - which includes the ASF - or the police and supervisory authorities, in the case of administrative offences.
5. The external whistleblowing channels allow complaints to be submitted in writing or verbally, anonymously or with identification of the whistleblower.
6. External whistleblowing channels allow verbal complaints to be made by telephone or other voice messaging systems and, at the request of the whistleblower, in a face-to-face meeting.
7. Complaints shall be closed and no further action taken where the competent authorities, by means of a reasoned decision to be notified to the complainant, consider that:
a) The offence complained of is minor, insignificant or manifestly irrelevant;
(b) the complaint is repeated and contains no new elements of fact or law justifying a course of action different from that taken in respect of the first complaint; or
c) The complaint is anonymous and there is no evidence of an offence.
Article 10 Confidentiality
1. The identity of the whistleblower, as well as the person or persons named in the complaint as the perpetrator of the offence or associated with it, and any information that directly or indirectly makes it possible to deduce their identity, is confidential and restricted to the persons responsible (RTD) for receiving or following up on complaints.
2. The confidentiality obligation referred to in the previous paragraph extends to anyone who has received information about complaints, even if they are not responsible or incompetent for receiving and processing them.
3. The identity of the whistleblower is only disclosed as a result of a legal obligation or court decision.
4. Without prejudice to the provisions of the applicable legislation, the disclosure of information shall be preceded by written communication to the complainant (if and to the extent that the latter has identified a means of contact) stating the reasons for the disclosure of the confidential data in question, unless the provision of such information jeopardises the related investigations or legal proceedings.
Article 11 Contacts for submitting internal complaints of offences
Corbroker makes the following means available to whistleblowers:
a) Letter:
Corbroker - Corretores de Seguros, S.A.
Whistleblowing Officer (RTD)
Av 5 de Outubro, 17 - 2º
1050-047 Lisbon
b) e-mail: denuncias@corbroker.pt
Article 12 Protecting the target person
The system provided for in this Whistleblowing System and Policy is without prejudice to any procedural rights or guarantees recognised under the law for the persons named in the complaint as the perpetrators of the offence or associated with it, namely the presumption of innocence and the guarantees of defence in criminal proceedings.
Article 13 Retention of complaints
Corbroker keeps a record of the complaints received and retains them for at least five years and, regardless of this period, during the pendency of judicial or administrative proceedings relating to the complaint.
Article 14 Prohibition of retaliation
(1) Corbroker is prohibited from retaliating against the complainant.
2. An act of retaliation is considered to be an act or omission which, directly or indirectly, occurring in a professional context and motivated by an internal complaint, causes or may cause the complainant, in an unjustified manner, pecuniary or non-pecuniary damage.
3. Threats and attempts at the acts and omissions referred to in the previous paragraph shall also be considered acts of retaliation.
4. Anyone who commits an act of retaliation shall compensate the complainant for the damage caused.
5. Irrespective of the civil liability incurred, the complainant may request the measures appropriate to the circumstances of the case in order to prevent the damage from occurring or spreading.
6. The provisions of the previous paragraphs shall apply correspondingly to:
a) A natural person who assists the whistleblower in the whistleblowing procedure and whose assistance must be confidential;
b) A third party who is linked to the whistleblower, such as a work colleague or family member, and could be the target of retaliation in a professional context; and
c) Legal persons or similar entities that are owned or controlled by the whistleblower, for which the whistleblower works or with which they are in any way connected in a professional context.
Article 15 Anti-fraud policy
Corbroker complies with the policies for the prevention, detection and reporting of insurance fraud practices implemented by the insurance companies with which it collaborates, and will provide clients, policyholders, insured persons, beneficiaries or injured third parties, on request, with the general information it deems relevant in this regard.
Article 16 Processing of personal data
1. The processing, whether or not using computerised means, of the personal data of whistleblowers is carried out in strict compliance not only with the Privacy and Personal Data Protection Policy adopted by Corbroker, but also with the applicable legal regulations, in particular with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data [General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)], Law no. 58/2019, of 8 August 2019, which approves the rules on the processing of personal data in the national legal order of the GDPR.Law no. 58/2019, of 8 August, which ensures the implementation of the GDPR in the national legal order, Law no. 59/2019, of 8 August, which approves the rules on the processing of personal data for the purposes of the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties, and the technical and organisational security rules appropriate to the risk posed by the processing of the data.
2. Personal data that is clearly not relevant to the processing of the complaint will not be kept and will be deleted immediately.
Article 17 Disclosure of the policy for dealing with reports of offences
Corbroker, which assumes its approval, implementation, adequate monitoring and reflection in the relevant documents inherent to the exercise of the insurance distribution activity, also ensures the necessary dissemination and explanation of the rules contained in this Whistleblowing System and Policy, namely the contacts for the purpose of submitting complaints and the respective form, as per the attached model, in order to guarantee their knowledge and compliance, which is permanently available at www.corbroker.pt.
ANNEX COMPLAINT FORM
By submitting this form, I recognise that Corbroker, as the Data Controller, will use my personal data in accordance with the options expressed in it and under the terms of its Privacy and Personal Data Protection Policy.
NOTES:
(1) Optional. However, if the whistleblower wishes to be able to follow up on the complaint, they must indicate at least one form of contact, namely e-mail.
(2) Indicate the area of activity of the act you wish to report:
a. Public procurement;
b. Financial services, products and markets and the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing;
c. Insurance and insurance distribution;
d. Product safety and compliance;
e. Transport safety;
f. Environmental protection;
g. Radiation protection and nuclear safety;
h. Food and feed safety, animal health and animal welfare;
i. Public health;
j. Consumer defence;
k. Protection of privacy and personal data and security of the network and information systems;
l. An act or omission that is contrary to and detrimental to the financial interests of the European Union;
m. Act or omission contrary to internal market rules, including competition and state aid rules, as well as corporate tax rules;
n. Violent crime, especially violent and highly organised crime, as well as organised and economic-financial crime;
o. Others.
(3) A description of the facts giving rise to the complaint, identifying those involved and the date on which the facts occurred.