GENERAL HISTORY
AEGON Nederland N.V. is the holding company for the Group’s Dutch insurance and banking activities. AEGON’s operations in the Netherlands are collectively referred to as AEGON The Netherlands.
The head office of AEGON The Netherlands is located in The Hague, with additional offices in Leeuwarden, Groningen and Nieuwegein.
AEGON The Netherlands primary operational subsidiaries in the Netherlands are:
- AEGON Levensverzekering N.V.
- AEGON Schadeverzekering N.V.
- AEGON NabestaandenZorg N.V.
- AEGON Spaarkas N.V.
- AEGON Bank N.V.
- Spaarbeleg Kas N.V.
- Axent AEGON Sparen
- Meeùs Groep B.V.
- TKP Pensioen B.V.
- Nedasco B.V.
AEGON The Netherlands is involved in both the life and non-life insurance business and provides banking, financial and asset management services.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS As of January 1, 2004, AEGON The Netherlands implemented a new organizational structure with five service centers and four marketing and sales organizations. Prior to this reorganization, a business unit structure was in place. The five service centers that focus on customer service and the administration of the five main product lines are as follows:
- Service center pensions
- Service center life insurance
- Service center non-life insurance
- Service center banking
- Service center asset management
During 2005, AEGON The Netherlands continued the restructuring process, transferring marketing activities from each of the three organizations to a central marketing unit for the Netherlands. This reorganization has energized the development of new product propositions and has made the integration of IT systems possible, a task which will be completed in 2006.
The sales organizations (SO) have been structured to serve different sales channels, such as independent brokers, AEGON affiliated organizations, and AEGON The Netherlands’ own advisors.
The SO’s are:
- Corporate & Institutional Clients (C&IC) — focuses on large companies, company pension funds, and industry pension funds.
- Intermediair — which includes the Meeùs Groep since the third quarter of 2005, focuses on retail and institutional clients and independent brokers.
- AEGON Spaarbeleg — supports AEGON The Netherlands’ own advisors as well as direct sales.
PRODUCTS AND DISTRIBUTIONAEGON The Netherlands offers five product lines:
- Pensions
- Life insurance
- Non-life insurance
- Banking
- Asset management
While the majority of AEGON The Netherlands product are sold through brokers, some products are also sold via other channels such as direct marketing, specialized agents and tied agents. Institutional clients and large companies are directly targeted by the sales organization C&IC.
PENSIONS Pension products are mainly sold by C&IC and Intermediary.
The main pension products are:
- Products for account of policyholders with guarantees (separate investment guaranteed contracts)
- Products for account of policyholders without guarantees (separate investment capital contracts)
- Medium and small-sized enterprises (guaranteed) pensions
- AEGON Pensioen Pakket (defined contribution)
- AEGON Garantie Pensioen (defined benefit)
Separate investment guaranteed contracts and separate investment capital contracts are defined benefit products with both single and recurring premiums and a disability rider. Profit sharing is based on the return of a pool of investments. Large group contracts also share technical results (mortality risk and disability risk). The assets are owned by AEGON The Netherlands but earmarked to form the basis for profit sharing for these contracts. The contract period is typically five years and the premium tariffs are fixed over this period. Separate investment capital contracts are only sold to company pension funds and AEGON The Netherlands has the option not to renew a contract at the end of the contract period; this ensures that the longevity risk lies with the pension fund. Separate investment guaranteed contracts provide a guarantee on the benefits paid. The longevity risk therefore lies with AEGON The Netherlands.
