a.s.r. offers P&C products for the retail and commercial markets under the brands a.s.r. and "Ik kies zelf van a.s.r.". In 2023 Ditzo and Europeesche Verzekering are relabelled to "Ik kies zelf van a.s.r.". The a.s.r. brand focuses on the retail and commercial markets through advisors and mandated brokers. "Ik kies zelf van a.s.r." offers direct online distribution to individuals and travel and recreational insurance via travel agents. Additionally, the Managing General Agent Corins operates as an independent entity on the Dutch co-insurance market. Corins represents a panel of reputable international (re)insurers, underwriting commercial and industrial risks.

On 1 October the legal integration of Aegon Schadeverzekeringen N.V. with a.s.r. Schadeverzekeringen N.V. took place. a.s.r.'s market position has been significantly strengthened through the business combination with Aegon NL and through strong organic growth in a market characterised by disciplined and economic pricing. In 2023, a.s.r. further invested in more sustainable insurance with two new partnerships. a.s.r. holds a majority interest in Soople and a minority interest in Fixxer.

Soople helps its customers by taking on full day-to-day maintenance of properties, including the initial contact with residents, planning, implementation and invoicing. By becoming co-owner of Soople, a.s.r. can conduct sustainable repairs for customers and ultimately add to this service sustainable maintenance and other sustainable services.

Fixxer is a new company set up in collaboration with Belfius Insurance and focuses on the management and further development of a digital service platform for claims of customers.

The combined ratio increased to 93.6% (2022: 92.5%), primarily driven by the impact of inflation on claims despite a lower level of weather-related calamities compared with 2022. Premium increases were implemented in the retail portfolio and in the commercial portfolio. In addition, the higher average interest rate environment compared to 2022 had a positive impact on the discounting of incurred claims.

Market

The Dutch P&C market is fairly consolidated. The three top P&C insurers have a combined market share of 64%¹ (2021: 64%), a.s.r. ranks among the top three Property & Casualty (P&C) insurers in the Netherlands, with a market share of 13.8% in 2022 (2021: 14.1%), measured by GWP.

Consolidation has also occurred among the distribution parties and mandated brokers. Inflation had a big impact on the P&C market in 2022 and 2023. The claims ratio and expense ratio increases led to higher premiums.

The government intends to make commissions for retail P&C insurance transparent. Advisors will therefore be required to actively inform customers of the average amount of commission per product and per person. This could provide a stimulus for change in the distribution landscape.

Products

a.s.r. offers a wide range of P&C products in the retail and commercial markets. This includes products in the following categories:

• Motor policies provide third party liability coverage for motor vehicles and commercial fleets, property damage and physical injury as well as coverage against theft, fire and collision damage;

• Fire policies provide cover against various property risks, including fire, flood, storms and burglary. Private cover is provided on both a single-risk and a multi-risk basis, with multi-risk policies providing cover against loss of, or damage to, dwellings and damage to personal goods;

• Other P&C insurance products such as liability, legal aid, travel and recreation, pet insurance and transport insurance.

Strategy and achievements

a.s.r. has a strong track record of being profitable, with a good customer satisfaction score. Long-term growth is typically driven by the increase of the gross domestic product. a.s.r. is strongly represented among advisors, mandated brokers and in the co-insurance market, via Corins. In the direct channel, the revenue of a.s.r. ("Ik kies zelf van a.s.r.") is stable and profitable. a.s.r. expanded its traditional product portfolio with two new partnerships (Soople and Fixxer).

Simplifying and modernising the IT landscape is an important part of the strategy. This enables further digitalisation of the chain, improvement of services to customers and advisors, and cost reduction. Through further digitalisation, the personal online environment My a.s.r. (Mijn a.s.r.) for customers has been expanded.

The NPS-c measures customers satisfaction during contact moments, please refer to the result in the graph. NPS-c decreased compared to 2022. In 2023, the scope for NPS-c was expanded to include "Ik kies zelf van a.s.r.", which led to the sharp decrease.

At the end of 2021, a.s.r. joined the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance, an initiative of the United Nations and the international insurance industry. This commits a.s.r. to the target of its insurance portfolio being climate-neutral by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement. In 2023, P&C has calculated its baseline figures, set and published the 2030 ambitions for its commercial lines and personal motor portfolio and started the execution of actions in order to achieve these targets.

New sustainable features are continually added to a.s.r.'s products and services. Cover for solar panels, charging units, (mini) wind turbines, heat pumps, green roofs and secondary flooding is already available. For damage repair, a.s.r. works with a sustainable repair network (affiliated to Stichting Groen Gedaan) including its own repairer Soople.

Corporate customers receive sustainability advice after a risk assessment. The underwriters assess whether risks that are more difficult to insure from a technical insurance perspective, but that have a strong positive impact on climate change, can nevertheless be insured. To encourage corporate customers to improve the sustainability of their companies, a.s.r. has set up a cooperation with Klimaatroute. Klimaatroute provides an energy analysis at a reduced rate for a.s.r.'s SME customers in which the potential savings and sustainability opportunities are mapped out.

Customers and intermediaries may find information for example on how to make an energy transition or how to adapt their property to climate change on a.s.r.'s ‘sustainable living’ internet platform.

Outlook for 2024

The portfolio of Aegon NL will be integrated with the a.s.r. P&C administration to create a single claims organisation in which customers and intermediaries of Aegon NL will be retained as far as possible.

a.s.r. expects further growth of the P&C portfolio, by 3-5% per annum, with growth opportunities primarily in the commercial market. Inflation is continuously monitored in relation to the claims and pricing of the products.

In order to strengthen its position in the commercial market, a.s.r. will improve and simplify the business proposition. Additional measures will be implemented towards further digitalisation of the chain, in order to improve a.s.r.'s customer service. 'Mijn a.s.r.' will be expanded and further digitalisation of the claims handling process is planned.

The energy transition in the Netherlands is in full swing and sustainable solutions follow each other in rapid succession. a.s.r. has therefore set up the sustainability desk where advisors can take questions on how to insure new sustainable initiatives. Products and services will become more sustainable, partly through initiatives for sustainable and circular repair (repair if possible, replace if necessary whereby the item may be replaced by a refurbished item) and through the expansion of existing products in order to encourage the use of fossil-free alternatives.

• ¹Source: Market shares DNB 2022. Market shares 2023 are not available yet.