News

Across the Netherlands, 500 a.s.r. employees will participate in activities on Thursday, April 18, during Doenkracht Donderdag (“Doenkracht Thursday”). On this day, employees will step away from their usual tasks and wholeheartedly engage in volunteer work across 6 of a.s.r.’s 7 business cities. a.s.r.’s social organisation, Doenkracht, collaborates with various organisations in and around these cities that can benefit from external help. This initiative marks the first time a.s.r. is organising such an event, drawing inspiration from Aegon Nederland, which previously introduced Vrijwilligerswerk Vrijdag (“Volunteering on Friday”). The commitment to community activities aligns with a.s.r.’s mission to empower individuals in the Netherlands to make informed financial decisions, fostering greater financial awareness, savvy, and resilience.

a.s.r. Vitality will be available from 1 January 2025 to all customers with healthcare, income protection or pension insurance of a.s.r. or Loyalis, without paying a separate contribution for this. In this way, a.s.r. hopes to lower the threshold to participate in the programme.

During Money Week 2024, a.s.r. and Nibud will introduce the Nibud Quickscan Financial Resiliency especially for mbo students. This quick scan, based on the Nibud learning objectives and competencies, offers students insight into their personal financial sufficiency. Lecturers also see the extent to which their students are financially viable and can therefore determine which topics deserve attention. During the Money Week, the quick scan will be tested. From mid-April 2024, all mbo's will be able to use it.

During the Paris Proof Congress on Thursday 30 November, organised by the Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC), a.s.r. received a WEii certificate with the qualification Paris Proof for its head office in Utrecht. This means that the building meets the Paris Proof standard of a maximum use of 70 kWh/m2 per year.

Parties to the CBA in the hospital sector have selected Loyalis, part of a.s.r., as the exclusive provider of group supplementary disability insurance (WGA shortfall insurance) for 220,000 employees working in general hospitals in the Netherlands. This master agreement is for five years and stems from the CBA agreement to limit income loss in case of long-term incapacity for work of employees.

Thursday, 2 November, at Geldfit’s conference a.s.r. presented Geldfit with the whitepaper 'Research on cooperation between financial aid providers'. Research was conducted on the social programs that Aegon Nederland (part of a.s.r. since July 2023) has implemented over the past seven years. These programs focused on promoting financial literacy and debt relief. Key findings and recommendations from these programs are included in the white paper. The results showed positive change among community partners and participants. Little improvement was observed in the area of cooperation with-and referral to-formal debt assistance; this was one of the topics on the program during the conference.

Employers and employees in the Rhine and inland waterway sector have designated Aegon Cappital as the preferred party to provide pensions in the sector. From 2025, compulsory membership will no longer apply. The Stichting Bedrijfspensioenfonds voor de Rijn- en Binnenvaart has decided not to offer a new scheme.

As in 2022, a.s.r. has won this year's Green Lotus Award. This award is presented to the mortgage lender that, in the opinion of the jury, is the most progressive in making homes more sustainable.

On September 26, 2023, the Court of Appeal of The Hague ruled in the case of Vereniging Woekerpolis.nl regarding three unit-linked investment policies sold by Aegon Nederland up to and including 2004

Today, a.s.r. publishes interim net zero targets for 2030 for its non-life insurance portfolio. These targets are part of the commitment signed by a.s.r. as a member of the Net Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) to make its entire insurance portfolio emission neutral by 2050. a.s.r. sets three interim targets based on the NZIA’s Target Setting Protocol.

Today, ASR Nederland N.V. (a.s.r.) successfully issued €500 million in Residential Mortgage-Backed Security (RMBS) notes through a newly established securitisation programme called Delphinus 2023-I. Delphinus 2023-I represents ASR Levensverzekering N.V.’s newest offering in prime, owner occupied residential mortgage backed securitisation, marking a return of the Delphinus programme with the last securitisation originated in 2006.

a.s.r. has provided employees of both Aegon and a.s.r. more clarity about the future of Aegon Netherlands' office locations, which will become part of a.s.r.'s portfolio following the closing. The Hague location will remain open at least until the end of 2024, Leeuwarden until at least the end of 2025. Amsterdam (Knab) and Groningen (TKP) will remain open. The current office of a.s.r. at Archimedeslaan in Utrecht will be the head headquarters of the a.s.r. – Aegon Netherlands combination. This had already been announced.

a.s.r. today announces who will lead the proposed combination of the various business units of a.s.r. and Aegon Nederland and consequently will be the intended directors. This marks an important step in the development of a.s.r.’s organisational structure as of the combination with Aegon Nederland.

A representative survey by a.s.r. among working Dutch people shows major differences between generations when it comes to the desire to work flexibly, coping with workload and needs regarding retirement. The survey also found that 64% of working people in the Netherlands feel that working with colleagues from different generations has more advantages than disadvantages. Several teams experience more job satisfaction, work less overtime, and are more active in managing their workload.

Starters on the housing market can increase their choice by 35% if they include houses with a lower energy label in their search and take out an additional mortgage share to make them more sustainable. Yet first-time buyers hardly take advantage of this opportunity, Hypotheken Data Netwerk (“Mortgage Data Network”) results show. Results from a.s.r. confirm this view: in 2022, 13% of first-time buyers who took out a mortgage with a.s.r., made use of an additional sustainability mortgage. This additional mortgage gives first time buyers the means to finance energy-saving measures, making it more attractive to consider homes with a lower energy label as well.

a.s.r. joins 185 international investors to sign a collective statement against the use of plastics. Coordinated by the Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO), the investors, with combined assets under management of US$10 trillion, are joining forces and calling for more action to address the plastics crisis. Investors are raising concerns about the threat of plastics to the environment, climate, biodiversity, human rights and public health. The signatories are asking companies in the Fast Mover Consumer Goods (FMCG) and retail sector to make additional efforts to adopt a more radical approach to reduce their reliance on plastics.