Operational result increases to € 405 million

• Operational result increased by € 165 million due to higher insurance service
  result at Non-Life, improved investment results and growth in interest margin at Retirement Services
• Premium growth in all segments; increase of € 1.5 billion (8%) to € 19.9 billion. Assets under Management increased with 6% to € 206 billion
• Solvency robust at 195%; decrease due to higher healthcare costs and impact of reinsurance programme renewal
• Customer satisfaction remains high. Excellent NPS scores for our brands supported by investments in customer service and digitisation
• Expenses increased (+11%) due to inflation, business growth, strategic investments, legislation and higher personnel costs
• Financial reporting for the first time in accordance with new accounting standards (IFRS 9/17) 
  impacts presentation of results; no change to underlying earning capacity and financial ambitions
   

Bianca Tetteroo, Chair of Achmea’s Executive Board: “Today we present the results over the first half of 2023 and show strong growth in both premium income and result. Financial markets were less volatile than in 2022, which led to an improvement in the return on our investments. The social and economic context in which we operate nevertheless remains dynamic and uncertain, partly because of the high rate of inflation and increasingly frequent extreme weather conditions. We have recently seen many examples of this in Europe. There are also challenges in the field of healthcare, pensions and the housing market that we are working on based on our purpose 'Sustainable Living Together'. Together with healthcare providers and local governments, we are working to further improve regional healthcare on the basis of the Integral Care Agreement (“Integraal Zorgakkoord”). Extremely important, in this way we keep healthcare accessible and affordable. By building more lifetime homes, we respond to the changing housing needs as a result of an ageing society. This also relieves some of the burden on the healthcare system. And on 1 July, the Future Pensions Act came into force. Together with our customers, we started with the implementation.

Increase in operational result

The operational result over the first six months is € 405 million. This is € 165 million (+69%) higher than last year. The operational result at Non-Life increased by € 61 million. The total cost of claims was lower than last year as the first six months of 2023 saw no major natural catastrophy events in the Netherlands, in contrast to February’s storm in 2022. However, we do see a substantial growth in the number of claims due to increased traffic intensity. The cost of repairing damage is also increasing as a result of inflation. The combined ratio remains strong at 91.3%. The operational result of the Health business improved by € 67 million. The result of Retirement Services improved to € 10 million. Interest income improved at Achmea Bank, which forms part of Retirement Services. Mortgage margins increased and the mortgage portfolio grew in the first six months. Underlying trends at Pension & Life are in line with our expectations. The operational result decreased to € 134 million, partly due to the higher indexation on pension contracts from the service book. The operational result at International improved versus last year with € 34 million and, supported by further premium growth, came out at break-even. Finally, there was also an improvement in the operational result on our reinsurance activities of € 37 million owing to the absence of large calamities in the first six months.

Revenue growth

Premiums grew by € 1.5 billion (+8%) to € 19.9 billion. Premiums at Non-Life increased by 4%, mainly due to growth in the commercial segment. At Health, premiums increased by 7% due to higher premiums and a higher equalisation fund contribution. At International, there was the strongest premium growth (+41%) as a result of inflation and customer growth. At Retirement Services, assets under management increased by 6% to € 206 billion driven by inflow of new clients and market value developments. Achmea Bank's mortgage volume grew by € 1 billion. In light of our growth strategy on mortgages, we announced a partnership with Munt Hypotheken in April. We expect to provide approximately € 1.5 billion in additional mortgages with Munt over the next three years. A concerning development is that fewer and fewer people take out term life insurance when initiating or renewing a mortgage. In the longer term, this can lead to distressing situations.

High customer satisfaction and focus on efficiency 

The NPS scores for our brands remain high. Customers value our (digital) services in which we continue to invest. This includes investment in a new IT platform that provides a solid basis for transitioning to the new pension system together with our customers.

Expenses increased significantly by 11% compared to last year. On the one hand this was caused by inflation and business growth. On the other hand, there are strategic investments, higher personnel costs and costs to comply with legislation. Also in the past six months we invested in our Customer Due Diligence programme. On the back of the increasing expenses a focus on efficiency and cost control remains key.

Solvency robust

The solvency ratio stood at 195% at the end of June. This is still robust, yet lower than it was six months ago (year-end 2022: 209%). The decrease is caused by a sharp increase in healthcare costs and a higher net retention on our own reinsurance. 
Our reinsurance cover was renewed as of 1 July this year. We are seeing higher premiums and altered terms and conditions, partly in response to the global increase in climate-related claims and inflation. This does not only impact the net retention in our reinsurance cover but also has an impact on the cost of our insurance products.

Working together on sustainability

At Achmea we look at three aspects when it comes to climate change: prevention, adaptation and insurability. For these three aspects we work on solutions together with our customers, the Dutch Association of Insurers (“Verbond van Verzekeraars”) and the government. Our employees made their own pleasant contribution to sustainability in the first six months of the year. Since 1 January 2023, all our employees have a climate budget of € 2,500 for making their own living environment more sustainable. More than half of the 12,000 Achmea employees in the Netherlands already used this budget in the first half of this year. We are also making it easier for our customers to improve the sustainability of their homes. From May this year, for example, Centraal Beheer customers receive a discount on their mortgage rate for a green loan component used for making their home more sustainable. At group level, in February Achmea invested € 55 million in two wind farms via the newly-launched Climate Infrastructure Fund.

Realising sufficient lifetime homes

In June, we presented the strategic ambitions and new name of Achmea Real Estate. We have solid growth plans and the development of lifetime homes plays a key role in this ambition. The ageing population means that in the long term the Netherlands requires an additional 450,000 homes of this type. Our goal is for 10% of these to be achieved by Achmea. 

Thank you to our customers, partners and employees

We succeeded in moving in the right direction in the first six months of the year and did so together with our customers, partners and employees who I want to thank for their contribution and trust in Achmea."

Group results