Heavy weather for insurers not over yet – NOS

It is a long-awaited step: insurers NN and Delta Lloyd join hands together to face the tough times in verzekeringsland to cope. "The uncertainty about the future of our business is past", says Delta Lloyd director Hans van der Noordaa, even.

Previously predicted consultancy firm Deloitte all that in the short term two of the six major insurers will disappear. They are with too many, too small and walk behind digital developments.

What can insurers the next time expect?

Low interest rates

One of the biggest headaches of insurers at this moment is the low interest rates. That leads to lower profits.

That is: insurers have cash on hand in the case of people who are entitled to compensation must pay. Of course it will not occur quickly that all insured persons at the same time, death, or major damage.

to know exactly how much they as a buffer to maintain, they make an estimate of how much all current insurance liabilities in other costs. They look to the future, and do constantly make assumptions about how long people will live, how much damage they will make and how much investments will yield.

And especially that last one breaks insurers. The expectation is that investments in the coming period generally will not have much to yield.

The Dutch central Bank shall, on the basis of complicated calculations of which interest the insurers may go forth to their future profits to calculate. The higher the interest rate, the higher the expected income, and the less money there is, therefore, also to the reservepot need.

At this time is the interest rate that the DNB requires low. And that will, for the time being continue to be, warned bankpresident Klaas Knot in October. That means that insurers, whether they are the well with the calculation method agree or not, higher reserves set aside will. And that, finally, at the expense of profit.

Fierce competition

There is also less money on consumers who are easy online the price of insurance from several providers to compare. The competition is fierce, and comparison sites are popular, according to research by Deloitte. Therefore, they have to lower their prices.

in Addition, fewer people in a life insurance policy. The size of all the life premiums for the year is between 2007 and 2015, cut in half, according to a report that DNB earlier this month published.

That is due in part to the rise of bank savings, where people themselves with tax money aside for their pension or a mortgage. So that’s also no pot of fat.

A lot of damage

Another negative trend is extreme weather and climate change. There, insurers have to suffer. Thunderstorms and hailstorms this year, a devastating track drawn by the country. That has to certainly be a half a billion euro of insured losses led to, for example, houses, greenhouses and other crops.

But also the image of insurers has suffered. That has to do with the woekerpolisaffaire. Who turned to unit-linked insurance policies in the 90′s and the 00 on a large scale to the man are brought to you by insurers.

For many customers took that woekerpolissen less favorable than it was for me). The costs that insurers (and sometimes unnoticed) in account brought, were higher and the income nil. That led to a lot of indignation and distrust, and also to costly damages.

old Fashioned

finally, many insurers cautious and old-fashioned set. As a result, they, unlike banks, are behind with their technological development, suggests Deloitte. More and more customers want to use their phones ‘on-demand’ policies are able to conclude: insurance that you can convert, not bound to certain times, or where you are. Such as, for example, for insuring a car that consumers mutual lending via a service such as Snappcar.

Dutch insurers play there is still too little. While there, according to the consulting firm still a lot to get there. The market for such deeleconomiediensten will in the coming years vertwintigvoudigen, forecasts.