a.s.r. is the leading insurer in the disability market and it is focusing on organic growth. It has an extensive range of products and services for sustainable employability and preventing and reducing absenteeism.

The combined ratio is 0.5% better than FY 2023 mainly due to better performance of the collective portfolio and significant growth from the merger of the Aegon portfolio alongside organic growth. As the Insurance Contract Revenue grows with the increased operating result, the COR decreases slightly.

Market

Distribution of disability (income) insurance products takes place mainly through insurance advisors. With the brands a.s.r. and Loyalis, a.s.r. is well positioned in the distribution channel serving self-employed individuals, SMEs, corporates and  (semi) public sectors. a.s.r. is the market leader with a market share of 39.8% in 2023 (2022: 39.4%¹) in terms of the gross written premiums (GWP). The income insurance market grew slightly in size to € 4.65 billion².

Products

a.s.r.’s income protection insurance business offers various products divided into the following business lines:

• Individual disability:

  • Products for self-employed individuals to protect against loss of income in the event of illness or disability until retirement age.

  • Products for employees to protect payment of fixed expenses and against loss of income above the maximum daily wage due to illness and disability.

• Sickness leave:

  • Products to protect employers during obligatory continued payment of wages for employees absent for up to two years.

• Group disability:

  • Products for employers to protect against the financial impact of self-insurance status for continued payment of employees absent for more than two and up to 12 years.

  • Products for employees to protect against loss of income in the event of (partial) disability, in accordance with the rules and guidelines of the Work and Income according to Labour Capacity Act (Wet Werk en Inkomen naar Arbeidsvermogen - WIA).

a.s.r. provides a wide range of prevention and reintegration services for customers of both a.s.r. and Loyalis. a.s.r.'s customers face societal developments that lead to high workloads and the need to keep themselves and their employees employable and vital. With its services, courses, training programmes and a.s.r. Vitality, a.s.r. helps business owners and employers to keep themselves and their staff employable in the present as well as in the long term. a.s.r. believes that, next to quality insurance products, this focus on and attention for employability is important on an individual level as well as for employers and society as a whole. 

a.s.r. adapts its products and services to changes in the social security system and monitors political developments so that employers can focus on keeping their employees employable and meeting government requirements.

Strategy and achievements

a.s.r. aims to keep all its Disability customers employable and insured and strives to serve customers with best-in-class insurance products, prevention and reintegration services, and an excellent level of service. Customers (self-employed individuals and employers) have a need to stay employable and to retain their employees. However, if that is not possible for a certain period, they have the desire to be assured of an income. Through a.s.r.'s prevention and reintegration services, a.s.r. helps its customers to ensure optimal employability for themselves and their employees. This helps reducing absenteeism among customers and to control the cost of claims, keeping risks affordable and insurable.

a.s.r. focuses on further improving its service by digitalising customer processes, reducing paper flows, thereby offering convenience and personalised customer service. Examples include the ‘Services Store’ (Dienstenwinkel) with prevention and reintegration services, further development of 'Mijn a.s.r.' and the integration of a.s.r.'s back-office with salary systems for uniform and user-friendly participant administration and links with Health & Safety Service agents.

In 2024, the Aegon NL income insurance portfolio was integrated within the a.s.r. organisation. The former Aegon NL clients can therefore now benefit from digitalised processes and integration with salary systems. They can also benefit from the prevention and reintegration services that are offered to all a.s.r. clients, including the former Aegon NL clients.

In 2024, the preparations to make a.s.r. Vitality available to all insured workers and self-employed individuals in a.s.r.'s Disability insurance books were completed. In doing this, a.s.r. emphasised the importance of its vitality programme in enhancing the employability of its customers.

In addition to a.s.r.'s professionalism and the skills of its employees, a.s.r.'s service is characterised by speed, quality and a personal approach. a.s.r. aims to build long-term relationships with its customers and insurance advisors. Customer appreciation is a key performance indicator, which is measured, through an NPS-c, among other methods.

The NPS-c measures customers satisfaction during contact moments, see the results in the graph.

a.s.r. is satisfied with the stable high level of customer satisfaction, especially in the view of the integration of the former Aegon portfolio and the effort this required from the internal organisation.

Outlook for 2025

In 2024, the Dutch government organisation Employee Insurance Agency (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen - UWV) was faced with considerable operational challenges. This could impact the way politicians look at the social security system, although it is difficult to predict if and how this might happen. As a.s.r. is the leading insurer in the Disability market, it provides ideas and options to lessen UWV’s workload, whilst maintaining a fair and high-quality social security system. a.s.r. keeps track of developments to understand their potential impact on operations and business, ensuring timely responses.

For the next years a.s.r. expects further revenue growth (of between 3 to 5%) of the portfolio by serving customers with best-in-class products and customer service. Uncertain factors include the impact of economic and geopolitical developments on inflation, interest rates, wage development and the economy. a.s.r. continues to focus on the ecosystem of long-term employability, with the aim of continued market leadership. It does this by leveraging its professionalism, knowledge of the social security market, and prevention and reintegration services, whilst offering excellent service to customers, advisors and intermediaries and pursuing further value chain integration.

• ¹The 2022 figure has been adjusted to include Aegon NL.
• ²Source: Market shares DNB (2023). This does not include foreign providers licensed for the Dutch insurance market. 2024 market shares are not available yet. Based on the market survey of Baken adviesgroep, the market share of non-Dutch based insurers amounts to approximately 3%.