Good governance

Customer Defence and Whistleblowing Channel

Customer defence

For the purpose of promoting and achieving constant improvements in the quality of the service provided to customers, and to adapt to the requirements of Order ECO 734/04 on customer care departments and services and an Ombudsperson for customers of financial institutions, the entities in Grupo Catalana Occidente have set up a Customer Service Department to deal with complaints from customers and insured parties and, there is also a Stakeholder and Associate Ombudsperson to deal with complaints raised by stakeholders and associates.

All complaints must be addressed to said Customer Service Department, or the Stakeholder and Associate Ombudsperson in the case of stakeholders and associates, as set out in the Customer Defence Regulations (see "More Information" section). We recommend that these Regulations be consulted beforehand, in particular Articles 2 and 3, on the respective competences of the Customer Service Department and the Stakeholder and Associate Ombudsperson, and Chapter II, “Procedure for processing complaints”.

Customer Service Department to deal with complaints from insurance companies, management companies for collective investment undertakings, securities agencies and credit institutions

The Head of the Customer Service Department for Grupo Catalana Occidente is Ms Ainhoa Cuevas Arranz, appointed to deal with complaints from Occident GCO, S.A.U. de Seguros y Reaseguros, Occident Hipotecaria E.F.C., S.A.U., Grupo Catalana Occidente Gestión de Activos S.A.U., S.G.I.I.C., and Occident GCO Capital, Agencia de Valores, S.A.U.

Its contact details are:

Email: Defensa.Cliente.GCO@gco.com
Avda. Alcalde Barnils, 63
08174 - Sant Cugat del Vallés (Barcelona)
Tel.: 900 102 978                         

Stakeholder and Associate Ombudsperson to deal with complaints from pension fund management companies and voluntary social welfare entities.

The Stakeholder and Associate Ombudsperson is LEGSE Abogados, S.L., ranked as a leading law firm in the insurance field by prestigious legal directories and appointed to deal exclusively with complaints from Occident Pensiones, E.G.F.P., S.A.U. and Occident Previsión E.P.S.V. Individual.

Its contact details are:

Email: defensordelasegurado@legse.com
Calle Lagasca, 40
28001 - Madrid

If customers have submitted a complaint to the aforementioned Customer Service Department or the Stakeholder and Associate Ombudsperson and do not agree with the resolution issued, they may contact the complaints service of the relevant supervisory body in each case, as indicated below, using the forms provided for this purpose, which are available in the "More information" section:

  • Occident GCO, S.A.U. de Seguros y Reaseguros and Occident Pensiones, E.G.F.P., S.A.U. => Directorate-General for Insurance and Pension Funds (DGSFP).
  • Occident Hipotecaria E.F.C., S.A.U. => Banco de España
  • Grupo Catalana Occidente Gestión de Activos S.A.U., S.G.I.I.C. and Occident GCO Capital, Agencia de Valores, S.A.U. => National Securities Market Commission (CNMV)
  • Occident Previsión E.P.S.V. Individual => Basque Government

 

Whistleblowing Channel 

The purpose of the Whistleblowing Channel is to receive, hold and process communications on irregularities related to breaches of the Grupo Catalana Occidente Code of Ethics, the protocols implementing it, any other regulation or internal policies of the Group and/or its entities considered individually, as well as actions or omissions that result in a serious or very serious breach that is punishable under administrative or criminal law, or the manipulation and/or falsification of financial data. In accordance with the above, communications that do not contain data identifying the informant will be accepted for processing, and will be investigated with the utmost caution and proportionality. 

The Whistleblowing Channel regulates the internal reporting system and the defence of the whistleblower, the internal reporting channels for receiving communications, the process for investigating any situations identified, and ensures that the whistleblower and any other individuals associated with the latter who submit reports are adequately protected against reprisals. 

Any individual or company, such as customers, suppliers, shareholders or other stakeholders of Grupo Catalana Occidente can report fraudulent practices or breaches in matters of Human Rights and national or European laws or other "Reportable Actions" set forth in the Whistleblowing Channel protocol on irregularities and fraud arising in a work or professional context, and related to Members of the Board, Management, and employees of the Group, regardless of their position and level, as well as to the network of agents and collaborators connected to the Group. 

The contact details of the Corporate Internal Audit Department are: 

E-mail: canaldenuncias@gco.com 

Postal mail: 

Internal Corporate Audit Director

Person responsible for the internal information system

Grupo Catalana Occidente, S.A.

Avenida Alcalde Barnils, nº 63

08174 – Sant Cugat del Vallés

Telephone: 935820685 

Once the report has been received, it will be handled by the Corporate Internal Audit Department in accordance with the Whistleblowing Channel protocol for Irregularities and Fraud, the Director of which is responsible for the internal reporting system referred to in Article 5 of Law 2/2023 of 20 February, regulating the protection of persons reporting regulatory breaches and the fight against corruption, and in accordance with the provisions of the ‘Procedure and Methodology for the Analysis of Irregularities and Internal Fraud’, which is aligned with the provisions of Law 2/2023 of 20 February, regulating the protection of persons reporting regulatory breaches and the fight against corruption.