The importance of UBO
Just like you, we like to know with whom we do business. For instance, we are legally obliged to record who the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of our business customers are.
A UBO is a person who is the ultimate owner or has control over an organisation. This can, of course, be several people. The UBO statement sent to you states how you should determine the UBO of your organisation and what percentage of voting rights, participation or control applies. Some insurers use the statutory percentage of 25%, others use 50%. Please look at this carefully.
Questions?
Do you have questions about client due diligence or the UBO statement? Contact our Legal & Compliance Officer.
Anneke Bogtstra: +31 020 504 26 37
a.bogtstra@meijers.nl
Most frequently asked UBO questions:
1. Who has to sign the UBO form?
The person(s) authorised to sign in your organisation. The signing authority of your organisation can be found in the Chamber of Commerce extract.
2. Do I have to submit data separately for each company?
Meijers is required by law to record from our customers who the UBO is. This means that if you are involved with several companies with insurance through Meijers, we would like to receive the details of each company separately.
3. What happens if I do not provide Meijers with the requested information on time?
You will first receive a couple of reminders from us. If we still have not received any information after this, we cannot accept you as a customer. Policies cannot be issued and no claim payments can be made.
4. What happens to my data?
We include the UBO data in our systems and use it to identify and verify the beneficial owner.
5. What legal obligations does Meijers have?
We ask for the details of the UBO because we are legally obliged to do so under the ‘Anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing act’ (Wwft)'.
6. What does this mean for our privacy?
We are legally obliged to know who our customers are. Collecting and processing the data of UBOs is therefore allowed under the Privacy Act and the General Data Protection Regulation.
7. Our UBO is already in the public register of CoC, why do I have to submit UBO details to you again?
This is the question most often asked of us. The answer is extensive. That is why we have created a fact sheet:
8. Why do you use 50% instead of 25% when determining the UBO?
According to the Sanctions Act, the UBO is the person or persons who (1) have 50% or more ownership rights in a legal person/entity and/or (2) control that legal person/entity. Individual insurance companies are free to maintain a lower percentage, for instance because they also carry products covered by Anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing act (Wwft). The Wwft assumes an UBO percentage of more than 25%. This lower percentage is not mandatory. In fact, the legal limit (from the Sanctions Act) is 50% or more. Advisers working with multiple insurers will then have to take different percentages into account. Unfortunately, nothing can be done about this; the latest version of the Sanctions Act Guidelines states that the 50% standard is used as a starting point, but that company policy can deviate from this.
9. We are a listed company and do not have an UBO, why do I still have to fill in the form?
Our request to provide us with your UBOs is different from the obligation for certain organisations to declare UBOs in the UBO register at the Chamber of Commerce. Under the Financial Supervision Act (Wft) and the Anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing act (Wwft), we are obliged to have sufficient knowledge of our clients. To this end, we research our clients, which is also known as Customer Due Diligence (CDD). Part of this CDD also requires Meijers to know and record the ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of its clients. This is stated in the Wwft. In the case of listed companies, senior executives must then be identified as pseudo-UBOs. You report these psuedo-UBO(s) on the UBO form.
10. Why do I as an Association of Owners, have to update the UBO information when this is required in the UBO register of the Chamber of Commerce?
We understand that you are wondering why you need to disclose the UBOs of the Association of Owners to us. Under the Financial Supervision Act (Wft) and the Anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing act (Wwft), we are obliged to have sufficient knowledge of our customers. To this end, we carry out client research, which is also known as Customer Due Diligence (CDD). In this context, consider, for instance, establishing the identity of the customer and the customer's UBOs, investigating customers' assets, transactions and conduct of business. Part of this CDD also requires Meijers to know and record the Ultimate Interested Persons (UBOs) of its clients. This is stated in the Wwft. This CDD, and our request that you provide us with your UBOs, is slightly different from the obligation there is for certain organisations to declare UBOs in the UBO register at the Chamber of Commerce. VVEs do not have to declare their UBOs in UBO register at the Chamber of Commerce, but financial service providers, such as Meijers, do. We understand that this has caused confusion.
11. I own a foreign company/entity; do I need to complete a UBO form?
You DO need to complete a UBO form. Foreign legal entities with only branches in the Netherlands are not required to register UBOs in the Netherlands with the Chamber of Commerce. You do have to fill in a UBO form as a client of a financial services provider, such as Meijers. The UBO of a foreign legal form is determined in the same way as that of a Dutch legal form.
12. On what basis may Meijers process personal data when it comes to the UBO statement?
Based on Article 33 paragraph 2 sub a-1 of the Anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing act (Wwft). Based on this article, we may request and record the following data: the family name, first names, date of birth, address and place of residence, or place of establishment of the client as well as the person acting on behalf of that person.