Method and pricing
Verified
Two questions come before any other, and each answers the other: how is a company chosen, and what does it really cost. Treating them separately always leaves one without a verifiable answer. Here are both, together, with their sources.
In brief
- A company is selected on four verifiable criteria: solvency, depositary bank, specialisation, track record.
- The real cost of a policy is made up of four layers, detailed below.
- The security triangle protects ownership of your assets. It does not guarantee their value.
- The broker is paid exclusively by commission, with no additional fee.
- Every recommendation leaves a written, verifiable record.
The full detail of each point follows below.
How a company is selected
- Solvency: reading the SCR ratio published in each company’s SFCR report, consolidated by the Commissariat aux Assurances.
- Depositary bank: the quality and independence of the institution holding the assets, the central pillar of the Luxembourg security triangle.
- Specialisation: how well the proposed vehicle fits the client’s profile and objectives, rather than a single vehicle offered by default (full detail on available structures is on the Solutions page).
- Track record: management history and shareholder stability, a factor that underpins continuity of service over the life of a policy designed to run for several decades.
Since 2026, this selection also sits alongside a regulatory obligation on the companies themselves: a formal assessment of each product’s complexity, together with a precise definition of its target market and, where relevant, its negative target market.
Would you like something to read offline? Download the guide that sets out these four criteria in two pages.
What you actually pay
| Layer | Typical order of magnitude |
|---|---|
| Entry fees, deducted from each payment | 0% to 5%, some policies applying none at all |
| Annual management fees on the wrapper itself | 0.5% to 1% per year |
| Fees on the underlying investments | 0.5% to 1.5% per year, depending on the nature of the vehicle |
| Depositary bank and brokerage fees | 0.1% to 0.3% per year |
These figures are indicative and vary from one company to another; the exact schedule is always checked and communicated before any subscription.
Since February 2026, a regulatory framework has required companies, where performance fees significantly affect the stated return, to document that reduction with a quantified analysis: profitability, volatility, actual track record. This requirement aligns directly with the transparency already practised here: the four layers above remain its foundation.
An independent review of your existing policy, before any decision, remains available at no obligation.
Compared with conventional alternatives
The security triangle keeps the assets separate from the company’s balance sheet: they are held with a distinct depositary bank, under the quarterly supervision of the Commissariat aux Assurances. If the insurer fails, the policyholder benefits from priority creditor ranking on these underlying assets. A mechanism with no ceiling on cover, unlike conventional guarantee funds capped at a fixed amount per depositor.
This mechanism protects ownership of the assets. It guarantees neither their value nor instant availability in every circumstance: two nuances that sales presentations in the sector too often leave out.
What the Triangle protects, and what it does not
| What this means | What this does not mean |
|---|---|
| Priority creditor ranking on the underlying assets, with no ceiling | A guarantee of performance or of capital |
| A legal separation between the client’s assets and the company’s balance sheet | Protection against the market risk of unit-linked investments |
| A policy governed by Luxembourg law, not subject to the suspension mechanism under the French law of 9 December 2016 (known as the Sapin 2 law) | Unconditional liquidity in every circumstance: the policy’s general terms and conditions always apply |
How the broker is paid
Exclusively through commissions paid by partner insurance companies, with no additional fee charged to the client. According to data consolidated by the European insurance supervisory authority for the Luxembourg market, almost all active brokers are paid this way: this is not a hidden exception, it is the norm for the sector, made explicit rather than left in the usual blind spot.
The proof behind every recommendation
The method does not stop at choosing the company or calculating the fees. For every recommendation, you receive a written, verifiable record of how it was reached: the objectives expressed during the meeting, the constraints identified, the alternatives actually assessed, the total cumulative cost following the breakdown above, the remuneration arrangement on this specific case, any potential conflicts of interest and how they are handled, the precise reasons for the final choice, and a date for the next review.
It is this double transparency, on method and on money, that gives this page its name: nothing here is to be taken at face value, everything can be verified, line by line.
Sources
Public register of the Commissariat aux Assurances: www.caa.lu. SFCR reports of partner companies, published annually in accordance with Solvency II. Intermediary remuneration data, European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), Luxembourg market.