The insurance sector agreement becomes binding: AI Taskforce and expanded FOPAS

The Royal Decree of October 15, 2026, renders mandatory the collective labor agreement of March 2, 2026, concluded within the Joint Committee for Insurance Companies, relating to the 2025-2026 sectoral agreement. The text is published in the Belgian Official Gazette of October 26, 2026, under reference C − 2026/005251, page 57453, and bears the signature of King Philippe and the Minister of Employment D. Clarinval. The agreement had been registered on March 12, 2026, under number 198482/CO/306.

The decree is based on Article 28 of the Law of December 5, 1968, on collective labor agreements and joint committees, and follows the request of the sectoral joint committee. The scope of application covers employers and workers of companies falling under this joint committee. The agreement enters into force on January 1, 2025, and ceases to produce its effects on December 31, 2026, although several provisions are extended beyond this deadline.

Frozen purchasing power, meal vouchers as the only margin

The parties note that the Royal Decree of September 12, 2025, sets the wage norm for 2025-2026 at 0%. In this context, they recognize that no sectoral increase in purchasing power will take place at the sector level and that the only legal possibility lies in the increase of meal vouchers, up to a maximum of 2 EUR.

They specify that this situation does not constitute a precedent for future negotiations and call on companies to engage as soon as possible in a consultation on meal vouchers, taking into account their own economic capacity. Regarding end-of-career arrangements, two specific agreements, adopted in execution of collective labor agreements No. 179 and No. 180 of the National Labour Council of October 21, 2025, allow for a 1/5th reduction or part-time work from age 55 subject to a career of 35 years, and this until June 2029.

Artificial Intelligence: an AI Taskforce and guidelines by the end of 2026

Article 11 of the agreement establishes an AI Taskforce responsible for examining existing practices within companies, in other sectors, and abroad, in order to develop general guidelines by the end of 2026 on the use of artificial intelligence in a professional context, within the framework of social dialogue.

The text recalls the provisions of collective labor agreement no. 39 regarding the introduction of new technologies, as well as the framework of the European AI Act, which entered into force on August 1, 2024. Since February 2, 2025, employers must take measures to ensure their workers have sufficient knowledge of AI, and systems presenting unacceptable risks are prohibited. Furthermore, a specific AI training offer will be integrated into the FOPAS program, open to all employees.

Expanded FOPAS and 1.2 million euros for union training

In execution of Article 11 of the statutes of FOPAS — the “Fund for the Promotion of Employment and Training in the Insurance Sector,” no. 175796 —, the fund’s target audience, which allows for training at no cost, is expanded to all management staff for the years 2026 and 2027. Executive staff remain excluded.

For the years 2025-2026, an allocation of 1,200,000 EUR is planned for the benefit of the Union Training Fund, distributed as follows:

• 700,000 EUR paid by Assuralia for union activities;
• 500,000 EUR paid by FOPAS for union training.

These amounts will only be paid subject to compliance with the annual report on the distribution and use of funds, which union organizations must submit to Assuralia during the first quarter of 2027, and the social peace clause. The funding for risk groups and FOPAS for 2026 is set at 0.10% and 0.05%.

Social peace, job security, and outplacement

Article 17 commits the parties and their representatives to refrain, for the duration of the agreement, from provoking, triggering, or supporting a collective conflict at the sector or individual company level, and from submitting any additional requests impacting labor costs, with the exception of discussions on meal vouchers.

Until December 31, 2027, employers considering redundancies for technical reasons related to work organization must negotiate beforehand with social partners; in the absence of consensus, the sanction regime of the collective labor agreement of December 6, 2010 (no. 102877) will apply in addition to severance pay. A working group must clarify the individual dismissal procedure and the notions of “economic or technical reasons” by the end of 2026, with the intention of adapting the agreement within three months. The sectoral professional reintegration scheme resulting from the agreement of November 22, 2023 (no. 184867) is extended until the same deadline, and working groups are created on “active ageing,” based on the Vigor Unit study, and on burnout prevention.

For industry readers, the decree of October 15, 2026, transforms a negotiated agreement into a binding standard for all insurance companies: the obligations for prior consultation in the event of technical redundancies, expanded access to the FOPAS, and the resources of the trade union training fund are now mandatory beyond the signatories alone, while social peace is guaranteed until December 31, 2026.

Source: Belgian Official Gazette of October 26, 2026, royal decree of October 15, 2026, reference C − 2026/005251, p. 57453; collective labor agreement of March 2, 2026, registered under no. 198482/CO/306.