annual report 2015 CONCEPT a.s.r. Archimedeslaan 10 P.O. Box 2072 3500 HB Utrecht www.asrnl.com a.s.r. 3  annual report 2015 2015 annual report Contents Management report Financial report Chapter 1 - a.s.r. at a glance Chapter 5 - Financial Statements 1.1 Key figures 6 Consolidated financial statements 93 1.2 Profile 8 Company financial statements 224 1.3 Message from the CEO 10 1.4 Highlights of 2015 11 Chapter 6 - Other information 1.5 Strategy 16 6.1 Independent auditor’s report 232 1.6 Executive Board and Supervisory Board 24 6.2 Events after the balance sheet date 238 6.3 Other equity interests 238 6.4 Provisions of the Articles of Association regarding Chapter 2 - Report of the Executive Board profit appropriation 238 2.1 Themes in 2015 28 6.5 Profit appropriation 239 2.2 Financial Performance 32 2.3 Capital and liquidity management 68 2.4 Risk management 72 Sustainability Report Chapter 3 - Executive Board Responsibility Statement Chapter 7 - Sustainability 3.1 Executive Board Responsibility Statement 78 7.1 Sustainability strategy 242 7.2 Insurance 248 7.3 Employer 253 Chapter 4 - Report of the Supervisory Board 7.4 Investor 259 4.1 Financial statements and profit appropriation 80 7.5 Planet 263 4.2 Issues addressed by committees 82 7.6 Society 267 4.3 Management and supervision 84 7.7 Standards, covenants and memberships 270 4.4 Corporate governance 87 7.8 About this sustainability report 272 4.5 Remuneration policy 89 7.9 Assurance report of the independent auditor 274 4.6 Closing remark from the Supervisory Board 91 Appendix A – Glossary 277 Appendix B – List of Acronyms 281 Appendix C – Other customer information 282 Appendix D – Other employee information 283 Appendix E – Other environmental information 289 Appendix F – Other information 293 Contact details and publication 297 a.s.r. 4 2015 annual report This page has intentionally been left blank. a.s.r. 5 2015 annual report a.s.r. at a glance Chapter 1 a.s.r. at a glance a.s.r. 6 2015 annual report a.s.r. at a glance 1.1 Key figures Gross written premiums Breakdown of premium income (in € millions) (in %) 61 62 57 3,923* 4,092 3,787* Non-life 39 38 43 Life 2013 2014 2015 2013 2014 2015 * After restatement Operating expenses Prot for the year (in € millions) (in € millions) 575 529* 524* 601 423* 247* 2013 2014 2015 2013 2014 2015 * After restatement * After restatement DNB Solvency I (in %) 305 285 268 2013 2014 2015 a.s.r. 7 2015 annual report a.s.r. at a glance Combined ratio Operating return on equity (in %) (in %) 13.9 104.8*,** 94.8* 95.0 11.7* 8.9* 2013 2014 2015 2013 2014 2015 * After restatement * After restatement ** Including additional WGA-ER loss item Net Promoter Score (external) Carbon emission* (in %) (in ton CO2) 9,178.54 -41 -41 7,805.32 -33 7,000.36 2013 2014 2015 2013 2014 2015 * March 2016. The emission factors have been aligned to the most recent scientific insights. The carbon footprint for 2015 and the footprint for previous years have been redefined based on recent insights. Number of internal FTEs 3,789 3,513 3,650* 2013 2014 2015 * including 344 FTE M&A, excluding M&A 3,306 a.s.r. 8 2015 annual report a.s.r. at a glance 1.2 Profile ASR Nederland N.V. and its subsidiaries, hereinafter jointly a.s.r. is confident that it can prove its right to exist by acting referred to as a.s.r., is the Dutch insurance company for all based on customer interests and customer perception. This is types of insurance. Via the a.s.r., De Amersfoortse and Ditzo something that all employees work towards on a daily basis. brands and specialist labels such as Europeesche Verzekeringen And it is the employees that give the service of a.s.r. a face and Ardanta, a.s.r. plans to continue to focus its insurance and determine its quality. a.s.r.’s products and services need to business on P&C, occupational disability and health insurance follow in step. Customers can rest assured that their risks are (non-life) policies and pensions, individual life and funeral covered by an insurer that operates sober and avoids waste, expenses insurance (life) policies, as well as on the distribution listens to them and puts itself in their shoes. In order to position of insurance products. a.s.r. also offers specific banking and itself well in different customer segments of the Dutch insurance investment products and asset management services. Except for market, a.s.r. pursues a hybrid and multi-brand distribution operating a small Belgian funeral expenses insurance portfolio, strategy and offers products through 5,500 intermediaries. which is recognized as a business line of ASR Levensverzekering N.V., a.s.r. operates exclusively in the Dutch market. In its policies, a.s.r. takes account of the interests of its Having generated € 4,092 million in gross written premiums customers and employees, shareholder, and a broad group of (GWP) in 2015 and servicing approximately 1.52 million external stakeholders (business partners, regulators, politicians, customers (through its a.s.r., De Amersfoortse and Ditzo labels), regional governments, industry associations, trade unions, non- a.s.r. is the fourth largest insurance company in the Netherlands governmental organizations (NGOs) and local communities). measured by GWP. a.s.r. has its registered office in the Netherlands. Its head a.s.r. allows people to take out insurance for risks they are office is located at Archimedeslaan 10 in Utrecht. The offices unable or unwilling to bear alone, and to help customers at Pythagoraslaan in Utrecht and Stadsring in Amersfoort were grow their assets for later. Customers need to be able to rely closed in 2015. a.s.r. also has offices in Amsterdam (until April on a.s.r. meeting its financial obligations because a.s.r. enters 2016) and Enschede. a.s.r.’s subsidiaries are based in various into long-term liabilities such as pension contracts. That is why locations in the Netherlands. sustainable financial robustness is essential and one of the top priorities. a.s.r. 9 2015 annual report a.s.r. at a glance 1.2.1 History Establishment of N.V. Maatschappij van Assurantie 1720 der Stad Rotterdam 1816 Establishment of Woudsend Verzekeringen Establishment of Let op Uw Einde 1847 1883 Establishment of De Utrecht (predecessor to AMEV) Establishment of Europeesche Verzekeringen 1920 1964 Establishment of De Amersfoortse Establishment of Ardanta 1965 1981 Falcon Life created from Mercator Life Merger between AMEV and VSB Group, followed 1990 by merger between AG Groep with AMEV/VSB Merger between ASR Group and Fortis AMEV, 2000 Fortis’s Dutch insurance operations Integration of insurance operations of Stad Rotterdam, 2005 AMEV, Woudsend Verzekeringen into Fortis ASR End of Fortis era: a.s.r. continues on as an independent 2008 company with the Dutch State as its sole shareholder Dutch government takes decision on sale of a.s.r. 2015 a.s.r. roots go back to 1720 with the foundation of Although ASR Nederland N.V. was acquired by the Dutch State N.V. Maatschappij van Assurantie, Discontering en Beleening as a result of the nationalization of Fortis group, it has never der Stad Rotterdam anno 1720, which – on 21 June 1720 – received any state aid. became the first listed insurance company in the Netherlands. The company in its present form was created in 2000 by the On 29 September 2011, the Dutch State transferred all of acquisition of ASR Verzekeringsgroep by the Fortis group. the shares to NLFI in exchange for depositary receipts for ASR Verzekeringsgroep was formed via acquisitions and these shares. NLFI is responsible for managing the shares mergers of, and partnerships with, a number of other and exercising all rights associated with these shares under companies, including insurers such as Woudsend Verzekeringen, Dutch law, including the voting rights. Since the date of Europeesche Verzekeringen, De Amersfoortse and Stad nationalization, the Dutch Minister of Finance has indicated that Rotterdam. The Fortis group saw the light in 1990 as a result of the investment was intended to be temporary and that a.s.r. was the merger of AG Group, Dutch insurer AMEV and Bank Group to be returned to the market. On 28 January 2016 the Lower VSB. In the autumn of 2008, following the financial difficulties House of Dutch Parliament agreed with the governments plan of Fortis group and to prevent further disruption of the Dutch to initiate the process of the sale of a.s.r. The Minister requested economy, the Dutch State acquired the Dutch entities of NLFI and a.s.r. to start preparing for an IPO, so that privatization Fortis group and forced Fortis to spin off Fortis Verzekeringen will become an option from the first half of 2016. Nederland N.V., which now operates as ASR Nederland N.V. a.s.r. 10 2015 annual report a.s.r. at a glance 1.3 Message from the CEO 2015 was a good year for a.s.r., in which we posted solid results. In an insurance market where achieving organic growth in We were disciplined about implementing our strategy in 2015 combination with responsible returns proved challenging, as well, which helped us to streamline our business operations, winning customer trust is the only way to success. concentrating on key themes such as customer focus, efficiency, Our products and services were rated highly by our robustness and balance sheet optimization.