4:71 Pursuant to Articles 82, § 1 and 83, § 1 of the Insurance Supervision Law, all directors, senior managers and persons responsible for independent control functions must devote sufficient time to the performance of their duties in the company^[1]. This also applies in periods of particularly increased activity, such as a restructuring, crisis situation, merger, etc.

4:72 Time commitment should be assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the position of the person concerned and the nature, complexity of the activities, size, risk profile and organisational structure of the company.

4:73 It is recommended that the overall assessment of time commitment be guided by (i) basic assumptions, (ii) a quantitative assessment of the number of external functions performed by the person concerned, and (iii) a qualitative assessment of the time required for the intended position.

4:74 The company should determine its own basic assumptions for assessing the time commitment of all persons to be assessed. It is considered good practice to assume that the positions of member of the management committee and person responsible for a control function are held full-time, subject to exceptions related to synergies between different positions within the group.

4:75 The simultaneous exercise of multiple mandates is an important factor that can affect a person’s time commitment. While there is no maximum number of mandates for directors of the companies covered by this chapter, it is recommended that these companies analyse the number of external functions performed by the person concerned and check whether this is consistent with their internal rules on external functions (quantitative assessment).

4:76 In addition to the quantitative assessment, companies should assess qualitatively whether the person concerned has sufficient time to perform the intended position, taking into account all relevant factors (number of meetings, travel required, induction and training required, etc.).

4:77 Companies should inform the NBB through the fit & proper form “New appointment” of the outcome of their overall assessment of time commitment, distinguishing where possible between the quantitative and qualitative assessment^[2]. This overall assessment should take into account the above factors and include at least an estimate of the number of days per year devoted to the position in question and, where appropriate, to the other professional activities of the person concerned.

^{[1] See in particular Article 83 of the Insurance Supervision Law.}

^{[2] In accordance with Communication NBB_2022_19 on external functions, the company must notify the NBB via the eManex platform of all external functions performed by the persons concerned. Any material changes to existing external functions must also be communicated to the NBB via the fit & proper form “New Elements” (see also Chapter 5 of this Manual).}