WFT Rules for Claims Handlers

Questioner

I read various questions on the site about the applicability of the WFT for claims handlers. Many financial institutions and intermediaries believe that their claims handlers are required to have 'WFT basic', 'WFT Business' etc. within the framework of the WFT. However, in my opinion this does not correspond with the so-called 'wft exemption scheme' (See overheid.nl). After all, Article 7 of paragraph 2.5 Mediation states that insurance intermediaries are exempt to the extent that their activities only relate to claims handling... Paragraph 4.5 Providers, Article 43, point 5, states the exemption for persons who do not perform any other activities related to insurance than claims handling. Question: Do you agree with my opinion that the 'pure' claims handler is not legally (!) subject to the WFT? If not, why not? Thank you in advance for your response.

Lawyer

Employees who are involved in substantive customer contact must have a Wft diploma that is relevant to their function. However, the minister has indicated that a claims handler does not have substantive customer contact within the meaning of the Wft. A claims handler is therefore not subject to the diploma requirement. The same applies to an administrative employee with occasional customer contact. Both the claims handler and the administrative employee with occasional customer contact are subject to the diploma requirement if they advise within the meaning of the Wft: making a recommendation to a natural person about a specific financial product. Advising in the context of the WFT Advising is involved when making specific recommendations about a product from a specific provider. The dividing line between 'informing' alone is very thin. Beware, customers very quickly expect that there is advice. It is not the business card that is leading, but what the employee says and does in practice. Activities that only relate to providing guidance in the event of damage and collecting premiums are exempt from the diploma requirement.