Working Together to Protect Our Customers

From 1 September 2025, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 introduces a new corporate offence: ‘Failure to Prevent Fraud’

Protecting our customers

Working Together to Protect Our Customers  

The Economic Crime & Corporate Transparency Act 2023 

At Ageas, we’re proud of the strong partnerships we’ve built with our brokers. Everything we do is rooted in doing the right thing for our customers — ethically, transparently, and in line with the law.

That’s why we want to make you aware of an important regulatory change and how we’re responding to it.

What’s changing? 

From 1 September 2025, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 introduces a new corporate offence: ‘Failure to Prevent Fraud’

To protect our customers, our businesses, and the onward integrity of the insurance market, we need your support. By working Brilliantly Together, we can all continue to deliver for our customers with integrity and confidence.

Why this matters to you 

Put simply, Ageas could be held responsible for fraudulent acts committed by anyone providing services on our behalf (known as 'associated persons') even if Ageas doesn't directly benefit from the fraud, or if any benefit is incidental and not intended. 

As part of Ageas's interpretation of the legislation, we recognise brokers who are formally authorised to act on our behalf under a 'delegated authority' as being associated persons.

Brokers with delegated authority can influence underwriting and pricing decisions, handle customer claims and communications - as well as manage policy sales, renewals or cancellations. In providing services for or on behalf of Ageas, actions by these associated persons could expose Ageas to legal and/ or financial risk – and potentially expose customers to undue harm. 

Brokers who don't operate under delegated authority with Ageas are not considered to be 'associated persons', as they are solely acting on behalf of the customer.

 

What do we need from you?

This legislation serves as a timely reminder of the importance of preventing financial crime.

While our partnerships with associated persons carry a clearer potential for exposing Ageas to Fraud risk, we ask ALL of our broker partners to:

  1. ensure they have proportionate controls in place to prevent fraud, bribery, money laundering, sanction breaches and tax evasion
  2. report any concerns or potential breaches to us immediately
  3. continue to support any required investigations and cooperate fully if issues arise

Proportionate, Practical Controls 

We understand that every business is different. Your unique controls should reflect your size and risk - but the principles remain the same:

  • Clear accountability

  • Risk assessments

  • Reasonable prevention measures

  • Whistleblowing channels and incident response plans 

If you spot something that doesn’t feel right - Speak Up

We want to hear from you if you spot something concerning. You can contact your regular Ageas contact – your first point of contact for raising concerns or our Broker Connect team on connect@ageas.co.uk

Alternatively send an email our ‘Speak Up’ mailbox: speakup@ageas.co.uk this is a secure and confidential channel, independently overseen by our Compliance Assurance team

You can report concerns relating to:

·       Financial services, products, and markets

·       Financial crime (e.g. fraud, bribery, money laundering, tax evasion)

·       Consumer protection

·       Unethical behaviour

Please keep reports factual and complete to avoid speculation.

 

Understanding Financial Crime Risks

We’ve included a glossary of key terms to help you identify and understand financial crime risks — including fraud, bribery, money laundering, sanctions breaches, and more.

Use the dropdowns below to explore key types of financial crime and what to look out for.

Fraud

 

Fraud is a type of financial crime where deception is used to gain personal or organisational benefit. It can be:

  • Internal fraud – committed by employees or contractors, often involving misuse of systems, assets or information for personal gain.
  • Insurance fraud – committed by individuals or entities outside the organisation (e.g. customers, suppliers), aiming to unlawfully benefit from deception
Bribery

Bribery involves offering, giving, receiving or soliciting something of value to influence someone’s actions dishonestly or illegally. This includes gifts, loans, or rewards used to gain unfair advantage or breach trust.

Corruption

Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for personal or organisational gain. It includes bribery, kickbacks, conflicts of interest, and embezzlement — all of which distort decision-making and violate ethical standards.

Handling the Proceeds of Crime

This refers to acquiring, using, or moving assets gained through criminal activity. It often involves concealing or integrating illicit funds into the legitimate financial system — a key component of money laundering.

Money Laundering

 

Money laundering disguises the origins of criminal funds to make them appear legitimate. It typically involves:

  • Placement – inserting illicit money into the financial system
  • Layering – moving it through complex transactions
  • Integration – making it appear as clean, usable funds
Terrorist Financing

 

This involves providing or collecting funds (from legal or illegal sources) with the intention of supporting terrorist activities or organisations. The focus is on the use of funds, not their origin.

 

Tax Evasion

 

Tax evasion is the deliberate non-payment of taxes owed to HMRC. It becomes a criminal offence when done with dishonest intent. Firms can also be liable for failing to prevent employees or partners from facilitating tax evasion.

 

Financial Sanctions

Sanctions are legal restrictions on financial dealings with certain individuals, entities, or countries. They are imposed by bodies like the UK Government or UN to combat terrorism, weapons proliferation, or human rights abuses.

Theft

Theft is the dishonest appropriation of property with the intent to permanently deprive the owner. In business, this could include stealing funds, assets, or confidential information.

Embezzlement

 

Embezzlement is a form of theft where someone in a position of trust misuses funds or assets they were entrusted to manage — often for personal gain.

Misconduct in Financial Markets

 

This includes:

  • Insider trading – using confidential information for unfair trading advantage
  • Market manipulation – artificially influencing financial instrument prices
  • Misuse of information – disclosing or acting on non-public data for gain