Lombard International Assurance is pleased to announce the appointment of Nicolaas Vancrombrugge as its new Senior Wealth Planner for Belgium, starting 1 April 2019. Nicolaas will be based in Luxembourg and joins a dedicated expert team of 15, active on the Belgian market since 1994.
With almost 20 years of experience as a Wealth Planner in Private Banking and Advisory for the Belgian market, Nicolaas brings with him a proven track record in unit-linked life assurance, succession planning and Belgian law.
Nicolas Demarest, Head of the Belgian Branch said:
“As many HNW families look for more protection, sustainable performance and efficiency in the transmission of their wealth, Nicolaas’ appointment represents a valuable reinforcement of our team, adding up on our succession and wealth planning capabilities. I’m convinced Nicolaas will be of great value to our clients and partners.”
Nicolaas Vancrombrugge, new Senior Wealth Planner said:
“Over the last 25 years Lombard International has developed innovative wealth planning solutions in Belgium and today, I’m proud that with my 20 years of experience I can contribute to the company’s market leading proposition to service the high net worth market and to further develop its service excellence capabilities.”
Since 2018, life insurance as a wealth planning tool is on the rise in Belgium. According to the figures of the Association of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (ACA), there has been a 17% increase in new premiums subscribed by Belgian residents in 2018 compared to 2017. Life insurance represents an efficient tool for investors looking for more protection, sustainable performance and efficiency in the transmission of their wealth.
Advantages of unit-linked life assurance in Belgium
- Accepted and recognized structure based on a clear and stable legal and regulatory framework,
- Maximum policyholder protection through Luxembourg’s “Triangle of Security”;
- Flexibility in terms of succession planning (beneficiary nomination, donation of the policy, etc.),
- Investment flexibility – access to international assets not registered in Belgium, such as alternative funds and private equity; (in line with CAA rules),
- to assign, pledge or use the life assurance policy as collateral;
- Cross-border by design: a Belgian resident investor subscribing to a life policy can decide to move to another country in the future without needing to dismantle or replace the investment at that time. The future tax treatment of policy gains depend on the tax regime in the new host country.
- Income generated by the portfolio underneath a life policy is exempt of Belgian withholding tax (actually 30% on dividends and interests).
Read Nicolaas' biography
Nicolaas holds a Master’s degree in Law of the KU Leuven, and Master’s degrees in European Law at the University of Lyon and in Corporate Law at the University of Brussels. He started his career as Attorney at Law and was admitted to the Brussels Bar in 2003. Following his experience at KPMG in Belgium, Nicolaas worked as a Wealth Planner at BGL in Luxembourg and later at BIL Luxembourg where he served as Senior Wealth Planner, deepening his specialization in Wealth Planning and focusing on the Benelux Markets.