Achmea realises operational result of € 419 million

• Higher Operational result (+3%) due to increased results in Retirement Services, Health Netherlands, International and higher investment results 
• Increase in Net result to € 493 million (+31%) due to higher operational and investment result 
• Premium income increases to € 22 billion (+11%) and Assets under Management to € 223 billion (+2%) 
• Announced acquisition of Blue Sky Group Asset Management leads to € 25 billion in additional Assets under Management and strengthens our position in asset management 
• Solvency remains solid and increases to 188% 
• Continued high customer satisfaction scores for Centraal Beheer, Interpolis and Zilveren Kruis with NPS scores of +16 or higher 
• Update climate transition plan: target to allocate at least 10% of our own investments (approximately € 4 billion) to impact investments, using expertise of Achmea IM and Achmea Real Estate

Bianca Tetteroo, chair Executive Board:
“We look back on a good first half year. Our customer satisfaction scores remain high, a clear recognition of the work of all our colleagues. It is also a testimony that our strategic investments in customer service and digitisation are bearing fruit. These results have been made possible with amongst others partners, such as Rabobank. Operational result increased, our solvency position is solid and turnover grew further. Premium income increased by 11% and income from Retirement Services grew by 19%, while costs increased by 6%. In addition, partly thanks to continuous focus on optimisation of our investment portfolio, we achieved a strong return on our investments.

We are on track financially and are also making good progress in the realisation of our strategy. An example of this is the recently announced acquisition of Blue Sky Group Vermogensbeheer by Achmea Investment Management. This is part of our growth strategy in retirement services and strengthens our position in asset management. The acquisition takes place at a strategically important moment, when many parties in pension and asset management are making key future choices related to the transition to the new pension system.

The economic and social context in which we operate continues to evolve. Financial markets developed favourably in the first six months. The labour market is and will remain tight. Inflation leads, among other things, to higher costs for damage repair. At the end of June the ECB cut interest rates for the first time in five years, a signal of more grip on inflation. However, partly due to geopolitical tensions, there remains greater uncertainty and the risk of volatility.

Operational result improves further
Our operational result for the first half of the year increased to € 419 million. With an operational result of € 145 million, Pension & Life Netherlands contributed significantly. The increase in operational result was mainly driven by higher investment results supported by continuous focus on optimisation of our investment portfolio. Operational result of Health Netherlands increased to € 167 million due to a larger number of insured persons, a better insurance result and higher investment income. The result of Retirement Services increased to € 41 million due to portfolio growth and improved returns at Achmea Bank. Operational result of International activities increased to € 14 million due to portfolio growth, lower claims expenses and higher investment income. At Non-Life Netherlands, operational result fell to € 118 million due to higher insurance liabilities in income protection, caused by the increase in long-term absenteeism, higher WIA inflows and adjusted short term inflation expectations in property and casualty insurance.

Growth and digitisation
At Achmea, growth and digitisation go hand in hand. A good example of this can be seen in Health Netherlands. Here, we welcomed approximately 450,000 new customers and strengthened our position as market leader. Thanks to our investments in digitalisation and scalability, we were able to welcome and serve these customers with virtually no additional employees. In addition, this year we have already digitally processed more than 225 million healthcare claims. Customers benefit from this. Within one day, the money is transferred to their banking account.

Revenue at Retirement Services increased by 19%, partly due to an increase in Assets under Management at Achmea Investment Management to € 194 billion. At Achmea Bank, we are growing in the retail market in savings (+10%) and mortgages (+6%) via the Centraal Beheer platform. We also strengthened our position as market leader in Non-Life Netherlands. The premium volume increased by 9%. In our growth segment International activities, premium volume increased by 19%, partly due to an increase in the number of customers at our companies in Greece and Turkey. For the coming years, we are committed to further business growth in Europe. We do this, among other things, using the fully digital claims platforms off InShared and Anytime.

At Pension & Life Netherlands, our new business market share in term life insurance increased to 14%. The portfolio continued to progress in line with expectations. For our pension and life portfolio, it is important that we proceed to operate as efficiently as possible. Earlier this year, we announced that we are exploring various strategic options for this. Continuing the current strategy is one of the options. We expect to complete this exploration in the second half of the year.

AchmeaGPT
As part of our innovation strategy, we continuously invest in new technologies to improve our services for customers. In addition to the further development of our existing applications in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), we have set up our own AchmeaGPT platform. Various projects are currently underway to explore within a safe environment how Generative AI can contribute to additional benefits for our customers and our organisation by developing and implementing various use cases.

Customer satisfaction rates remain high
Our brands Centraal Beheer, Interpolis and Zilveren Kruis continued to score high in terms of customer satisfaction with NPS scores of +16 or higher. Achmea's reputation score also remains strong at 71. Despite the tight labour market, we remain attractive as an employer. We successfully fill our vacancies with excellent candidates, partly thanks to the social relevance of our work. This provides a strong foundation for the future.

Climate transition plan update
Today, we publish an update of our climate transition plan. We are on track to achieve our interim targets related to our corporate investments and real estate portfolio. In addition, we have a new target to allocate 10% of Achmea’s own risk investments to impact investments by 2025 (approximately € 4 billion). We will invest more in companies and projects that generate sustainable energy, such as wind and solar energy, and in sustainable healthcare real estate. To achieve this, we leverage on the expertise of Achmea Investment Management and Achmea Real Estate, specialists in offering investment solutions that deliver both financial and social returns.

I am proud to say that we are well on track with the realisation of our ambitions and strategy. I would like to thank our customers, partners and colleagues for their trust in Achmea and its brands.”