Young people

Young drivers still have to build up their driving experience and have an increased risk of accidents, according to data from SWOV (Foundation for Scientific Research on Road Safety). In addition, novice drivers have not yet built up damage-free years, which means that in most cases they do not receive a discount on the premium , which oftenmeans thatthe premiums for younger drivers are higher than for other drivers.   In addition to age, other factors also play a role in the premium calculation, such as the weight of the vehicle and the place of residence. As a result, there are still plenty of opportunities for young people to insure a car at an acceptable premium. All in all, an 18-year-old with 0 damage-free years generally pays more than a 35-year-old with 0 damage-free years. Young people therefore show risk-seeking behaviour more often than older people.

Elderly

Statistics from the Centre for Insurance Statistics (CFS) show that older people have an increased risk of damage. You can see that in this graph, for example. A driver between the ages of 51 and 60 has a 3.4 percent chance of causing damage to another, after the age of 70 that percentage will increase, to 5.7 percent for drivers from 81 years. This risk is one of the factors on the basis of which insurers calculate the premium. But other matters also play a role such as the weight of the vehicle, the place of residence, the number of kilometers per year and the number of accumulated damage-free years.
If we look at the average premium that one pays for a third-party insurance, we see that the premium for an 85-year-old is hardly higher than for other age groups.
Some insurers apply an age limit: above a certain age, for example 75 or 80, you can no longer take out new car insurance there. However, if you are already insured, you can simply remain so.

When it comes to insurability and life insurance, we are talking about people with a serious or chronic illness who want to take out insurance. When taking out term life insurance (ORV) or funeral insurance, consumers must provide information about their own health. Based on this, the insurer's medical advisor determines the chance that someone will die earlier than average. If someone has a higher chance of dying quickly than their peers because of an illness, the insurer may decide to offer insurance. Of only at a higher premium.

Complicated message

As a result, it can happen that chronically illand or people who had a serious illness such as cancer in the past, are less likely to be able to take out insurance. Or they have to pay a higher premium. From an insurance point of view, that makes sense.  If the insured event (death)  in the short term  is to be expected, insurance is not  lake  possible.  And despite the fact that someone is cured ,  the risk of earlier death  - although greatly reduced -  can still be greater  than in people who have not had this disease.    This means that some ex-patients still have to pay a higher premium.  Dit is a complicated message.  Zeker if your attending physician has said that you  are very positive perspective .

Communication

The insurability of people with a chronic illness, a history of illness or a hereditary predisposition to a serious illness has therefore been on the agenda of the insurancesector for a long time.  In consultation with patient organisations  are brochures and other means of communication made to  properly explain how health information is used, and  why  sometimes no insurance can be provided.  And how we ensure that as many people as possible who want to can take out insurance.   Here's how Dutch life insurers – almost the only ones in the world –  twenty years ago  agreed that they consider HIV as a chronic condition, which can simply be insured.

Ex-breast cancer patients

Also  is  in consultation with patient organisations  one  prediction model  made for ex-breast cancer patients, with which insurers can  estimate the death risk of someone who has ever had breast cancer on the basis of current Dutch data .

Clean slate

Finally, the sector is working with the government and patient organisations on a scheme.  which means that e x cancer patients who were cured more than ten years ago no  longer have to report their disease history when taking out certain life insurance policies.

Lake  read about the  insurability of  people with a chronic or serious illness? Then readour theme page Medical acceptance.

Due to the growing attention for climate change , insuring flooding is also receiving more and more attention. In the Netherlands it is very difficult to offer flood insurance on a large scale that offers coverage against flooding by the sea, the large inland waterways or the large rivers. A number of insurers have tried, but have never been able to insure more than 1 percent of households against this risk. The consciousness and therefore the demand is too small. In addition, there is the problem of anti-selection: after all, some areas are more at risk of flooding than others, so that a large group will not voluntarily insure themselves. This leads to unfavourable conditions and premiums for the areas with the highest risks. This compromises solidarity. We find this an undesirable situation and have therefore been working on a solution for a long time.

In 2018, we issued the  Flood  Advisory Reportin which we advise our members to also provide cover against local flooding in the building and contents policy. It can differ per insurer whether – and how – they follow this advice. In the meantime, a number of insurers have followed this advice.

Because this certainly does not completely solve the problem, we will publish the position paper Flooding in the summer of 2020. In it, we make proposals to cover the risk of major floods together with the government.

Want to know more about what the Dutch Association of Insurers and climate? Check out our climate theme page.

In recent years, it appeared that the number of waste fires was excessively high. The Association called on the sector to focus more on safety and prevention and also discussed this withthe sector at the end of 2018 .    In 2020, discussions will also be held with other parties involved, such as the banks.  This is to contribute to reducing damage and keeping the risks insurable.

Compared to private car insurance, insurers have had to deal with a relatively high claims burden in the taxi industry in recent years. Especially in urban areas such as Amsterdam in particular. Does this have to do with driving behaviour, high work pressure, the increased traffic volume, telephone use, crowds at stations or a combination of thesefacts? The exact cause is not clear, but due to the high damage burden, the insurability of taxis is a problem.  At the beginning of 2019, the Association warned the taxi industry.  

Then,inMay 2019, we organized a dialogue session on the insurability of taxis. Parties involved were present, such as  Taxicentrale Amsterdam, Uber, insurers, representatives of the Public Prosecution Service, the RDW and Stichting Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Verkeersveiligheid (SWOV).  As a result of thevaluable conversation, SWOV, commissioned by the State Secretary for I&W, is conducting research into safety and the taxi sector, which may provide more  clarity. 

Self-employed persons without personnel (self-employed persons) are responsible for covering their risk of incapacity for work. They can do this, among other things, by taking out disability insurance (AOV). However, it is less easy for other entrepreneurs  to take out  an AOV or to pay a (considerably) higher premium  than other selfemployed persons.  These are, for example, entrepreneurs with a chronic illness or people who practice a heavy profession where the risk of incapacity for work is high.

Insurers find it important that self-employed people who want to take out an AOV that suits their needs can do so and are therefore working to increase insurability. Yet they acknowledge that this is not always possible in the current situation.

The solar panel market is booming. Moreindividuals and companies are installing solar panelsystems on roofs. This trend leads to solar panels being a relatively new risk.  In recent years, insurers have had to deal with a huge increase in the claim burden due to or from solar panels. Why is that? Unfortunately, it appears that solar panel systems are regularly installed incorrectly. In addition, not all roofs are suitable for solar panels or theunderlying insulation material is a fire hazard. Installation without proper preparation causes a lot of damage. Read more about insurance and solar panels.