Strong ethical values have formed the basis of the successful business development of the Group from the very beginning, and are deeply rooted in the Vienna Insurance Group self-image. Honesty, integrity, customer satisfaction, diversity and equal opportunities guide the corporate behaviour of Vienna Insurance Group in relation to its employees, customers, business partners and shareholders.
VIG code of conduct
Above all, Vienna Insurance Group stands for trust and security. To fulfil these demands, a standardised code of conduct, the Code of Business Ethics, was created based on the Company mission statement and VIG values. It applies to all VIG employees and governs conduct related to matters such as compliance with laws, discrimination, the environment, bribery and corruption, data privacy, insider trading and money laundering. In the interests of transparent corporate communication, the Code of Business Ethics is also published on the VIG website at www.vig.com/en/corporate-responsibility.
Wiener Städtische as an example of VIG compliance
Wiener Städtische has had a new compliance department since 1 April 2013. Compliance is generally defined as the observance of rules, i.e. internal Group guidelines, but also including in particular the observance of statutory provisions. Compliance can also be understood as “value management”. In this sense it concerns the basic attitude and conduct of a company and the people working in the company that are applied in practice and communicated both within and outside of the company. Wiener Städtische has dealt extensively with these topics for a very long time. Establishing the new department means that they can now be institutionalised and reorganised.
A Compliance Committee was established to ensure that all Wiener Städtische employees have a sound understanding of compliance issues. It is comprised of 18 compliance representatives, mainly senior managers, and the Compliance Officer, who meet four times a year to discuss any compliance cases, current and necessary preventative measures, and further development of the compliance system. The code of conduct is included in the documents given to new employees and sets down strict internal requirements for compliance with laws and regulations, anti-discrimination, prevention of bribery and corruption, insider trading, confidentiality, data privacy and environmental and social responsibility. This information is also available at any time on the intranet. This information is supported by regular training courses dealing with the guidelines mentioned above.