Business review 17 − Netherlands Life − Netherlands Non-life − Insurance Europe − Japan Life − Investment Management − Other – NN Bank, ING Re and Holding − Japan Closed Block VA
NN Group is an insurance and investment management company active in more than 18 countries
NN Group’s customers range from individuals and small and medium-sized companies, to large corporations and institutional investors. We service our customers through agents, advisors, brokers and banks, as well as directly through our websites and contact centres.
Non-financial and sustainability results • Multiple product and service innovations • Upgraded digital platforms and mobile applications • Introduction Responsible Investment
Over the years, our businesses – Nationale-Nederlanden, ING Investment Management and ING Insurance – have built leading positions in Europe and Japan. In 2014, these businesses came together under the holding name NN Group.
The start of our journey as a standalone company gave us the opportunity to set new priorities. Our purpose as an insurance and investment management company is to help people secure their financial futures. We do that on the basis of our three values: we care, we are clear, we commit. Based on this purpose and our company values, NN Group’s strategy is straightforward – to deliver an excellent experience to our customers. If we do this we believe they will continue to do business with us and we will be able to attract new customers.
Insurance companies primarily invest in bonds, mortgages and other long-term securities, which means the effects of a period of lower interest rates will be felt into the future as maturing, higheryielding securities are gradually replaced by lower-yielding instruments.
Solvency II will take effect in 2016, requiring insurance companies in the European Union to take specific measures to reduce the risk of insolvency.
Improving people’s financial well-being NN Group aims to be a positive force in the lives of our customers. We believe this also includes contributing to the well-being of the wider society.
• Group life/pension products • Individual life/pension products • Pension administration • Individual life closed block
The app also has the ability to analyse a user’s personal situation and give advice and recommendations on how to make adjustments to their pension plan in order to reach their goals.
Netherlands Life also partnered with CollectiefPensioenkiezer.nl, an online platform for SMEs, to offer direct pension advice to customers at a lower cost than a face-to-face consultation with a financial advisor.
Netherlands. Results in Disability & Accident (D&A) improved, driven by the effects of management actions to restore profitability as well as by a favourable claims development on prior accident years. Operating results in Property & Casualty (P&C) improved slightly as the impact of large and weather-related claims in fire and motor was lower in 2014 compared to 2013. As a result, in 2014 the combined ratio improved to 99.4% from 101.5% in 2013. The result before tax decreased by 37.9% to EUR 41 million, as the increase in operating result was more than offset by a special item of EUR -82 million in 2014 related to the agreement to make ING’s closed defined benefit pension plan in the Netherlands financially independent.
Strategy Netherlands Non-life aims to expand in specific market segments where there are clear opportunities for profitable growth. At the same time we aim to deliver an excellent customer experience, by reducing complexity, and further improving service quality. Our financial focus is on improving underwriting performance and reducing operating expenses. Management’s aim is to achieve a combined ratio of 97% or below by 2018.
Management’s aim is to achieve an annual low to mid-single-digit operating result before tax growth rate on average over the period 2013 to 2018.
Additional efficiency improvements were delivered by standardising our fund management and accounting systems across operations in different countries. Consolidating our IT platform has led to cost savings and process improvements which have allowed us to better service our customers, be more transparent and comply with new laws and regulations introduced in 2014.
Approximately 90% of the portfolio is projected to run off by the end of 2019 due to the short-term maturity profile of the SPVA products.
Certain of the statements in this 2014 Annual Report are not historical facts, including, without limitation, certain statements made of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those in such statements due to, without limitation: (1) changes in general economic conditions, in particular economic conditions in NN Group’s core markets, (2) changes in performance of financial markets, including developing markets, (3) consequences of a potential (partial) break-up of the euro, (4) the implementation of the EC Restructuring Plan, (5) changes in the availability of, and costs associated with, sources of liquidity as well as conditions in the credit markets generally, (6) the frequency and severity of insured loss events, (7) changes affecting mortality and morbidity levels and trends, (8) changes affecting persistency levels, (9) changes affecting interest rate levels, (10) changes affecting currency exchange rates, (11) changes in investor, customer and policyholder behaviour, (12) changes in general competitive factors, (13) changes in laws and regulations, (14) changes in the policies of governments and/or regulatory authorities, (15) conclusions with regard to accounting assumptions and methodologies, (16) changes in ownership that could affect the future availability to us of net operating loss, net capital and built-in loss carry forwards, (17) changes in credit and financial strength ratings, (18) NN Group’s ability to achieve projected operational synergies and (19) the other risks and uncertainties detailed in the Risk Factors section contained in recent public disclosures made by NN Group and/or related to NN Group.