7.7.7.1General claims and disputes

The Group is a respondent in a number of claims, disputes and legal proceedings arising from the normal conduct of business.

Provisions are formed for such occurrences if, in management’s opinion and after consultation with its legal advisors, a.s.r. is likely to have to make payments and the payable amount can be estimated with sufficient reliability. The costs of the compensation scheme for unit-linked insurance contracts have been fully recognised in the financial statements based on management’s best knowledge of current facts, actions, claims, complaints and events. Provisions are recognised in the liabilities arising from insurance contracts (see section 7.5.13) and legal provisions (see section 7.5.16).

Dutch insurers see an increase in insurance policies complaints / claims based on grounds other than the cost compensation. Current and possible future legal proceedings could have a substantial financial and reputational impact. However it is not possible at this time to make reliable estimates of the number of expected proceedings, possible future precedents and the financial impact of current and possible future proceedings. Currently there are no indications that such a provision would be necessary for a.s.r.

As for other claims and legal proceedings, against a.s.r. known to management (and for which, in accordance with the defined principles, no provision has been formed), management believes, after having sought expert advice, that these claims have no chance of success, or that a.s.r. can successfully mount a defence against them, or that the outcome of the proceedings is unlikely to result in a significant loss for a.s.r. For further information related to the Unit-Linked Products (beleggingsverzekeringen), see section 7.7.7.2.

7.7.7.2Pending litigation portfolio and product-related issues

Unit-linked products (beleggingsverzekeringen)

Since the end 2006 the unit-linked policies (beleggingsverzekeringen) received negative attention in the media and from political and regulatory sources. The criticism and scrutiny on unit-linked life insurance products led to significant compensation arrangements and product improvement programmes by Dutch insurance companies, including a.s.r. However, individual customers as well as policyholder advocate groups and their representatives continue to focus on the fees and charges included in products, alleged transparency aspects, as well as that consumers feel they did not receive sufficient compensation based on the compensation arrangements.

Proceedings in which a.s.r. is involved

a.s.r. is currently subject to a number of collective actions:

• Vereniging Woekerpolis.nl

• Consumentenbond / ConsumentenClaim

• Stichting Wakkerpolis

The claims have been rejected by a.s.r. and a.s.r. defends itself in these legal proceedings.

In November 2023, in order to resolve these long-lasting and historical disputes a.s.r. initiated a settlement agreement with five consumer protection organisations. The settlement is not an acknowledgement of too high costs, risk premiums and/or charges. a.s.r. also set up a leniency scheme for customers who are not affiliate with a consumer protection organisation for distressing cases that are assessed on their merits. On 19 February 2025 it was announced that the agreement that was reached in November 2023 with the five customer protection groups is final. More than 90% of the affiliated customers have accepted a personal offer. All existing collective proceedings against a.s.r. will be withdrawn once the settlement has been fully executed. No new (collective) proceeding will be initiated by the organisations nor their individual representatives against a.s.r. See section 7.5.16 for details.

Optas

In 2019 Optas had been merged into Aegon life, based on prior approval and instruction by the DNB. A limited number of policyholders opposed the merger and appealed the permission of DNB at the administrative Court. On 13 February 2023 the administrative Court granted the objections and annulled the permission granted by the DNB. The Court found that DNB should have required that all policyholders should have been individually informed in writing regarding the merger and given the possibility to oppose the merger. The Court also found that DNB should have shared all (including those marked classified and sensitive) documents relating to the permission to the objectors. Based on the law (Wft) the legality of the merger is not affected by an administrative annulment. This has been confirmed by ruling of the civil Court in a case against Aegon life, that is now subject of a pending appeal in cassation. Though Aegon life does not expect the pending litigation at the civil Court to have a material impact, if any, there can be no assurances that these matters, will not ultimately result in a material adverse effect on a.s.r.'s business, results of operations and financial position.

7.7.7.3Obligations and guarantees

a.s.r. has entered into private loans agreements € 502 million (2023: € 492 million) and private equity agreements € 100 million (2023: € 100 million). Other commitments mainly consist of future purchases of interests in investment funds and amounts to € 463 million (2023: € 337 million).

a.s.r. has irrevocable facilities of € 1,223 million (2023: € 1,752 million) which mainly relate to mortgage loan offers issued. Mortgage loan commitments represent undrawn mortgage loan facilities provided and outstanding proposals on mortgages. The sale of mortgage loans relates to pre-announced redemptions on mortgage loans and amounts to € 74 million (2023: € 18 million).

Investment obligations for an amount of € 345 million (2023: € 467 million) have been assumed / issued for investment property.

The sale of real estate which relates to properties that are under contract to be sold as per 31 December 2024 amounts to € 17 million (2023: € 87 million). Real estate commitments represent the committed pipeline of investments in real estate projects.

Investment obligations and guarantees for a total amount of € 3 million (2023: € 15 million) have been issued for real estate development projects and the acquisition of property. Those guarantees were issued by principals for the execution of projects for the benefit of clients.

The share of contingent liabilities incurred in relation to interests in joint ventures amounts to € 14 million (2023: € 14 million). These contingent liabilities, not shown in the statement of financial position, relate to investment obligations entered into by a.s.r. (for its share of approximately 50%) for real estate development projects of Amvest.

In October 2017, Aegon NL sold its shares in Unirobe Meeùs Groep (UMG) for € 295 million to Aon Groep Nederland. a.s.r. (after the business combination with Aegon NL) indemnifies and holds Aon Groep Nederland group (including UMG) harmless (until 2027) for and against any damage incurred resulting from Unit Linked Insurances claims prior to 1 January 2017 with respect to UMG’s portfolio of Unit Linked Policies. The aggregate liability for a.s.r. is maximised at an amount equal to the purchase price.

The Dutch guarantee fund for motorised traffic has a latent claim on all insurers offering legal liability products. In line with the advice of the guarantee fund a.s.r.'s contingent liability is € 13 million (2023: € 13 million).

7.7.7.4Expected future lease payments

The following table sets out the expected future lease payments for investment property and plants, showing the undiscounted lease payments to be received after the reporting date.

The investments properties, in retail, residential, offices and rural markets are leased to third parties, consisting of various lease terms in a range between shorter than one year and undetermined period with competitive rents mostly indexed to consumer prices. The plants are leased to third parties with lease terms longer than ten years.