There are life insurers, non-life insurers, funeral expenses and benefits in kind insurers and reinsurers.
Insurers are companies that provide and settle insurance on a commercial basis and for their own account. Insurance companies need authorisation to undertake insurance activities.
Insurers are distinguished by the categories of insurance they provide: life insurance, non-life insurance, funeral expenses and benefits in kind insurance or reinsurance.
In non-life insurance, benefits are related to the damage sustained by the insured. Examples include legal assistance insurance, accident insurance and health insurance.
Insurance only qualifies as non-life insurance if the insurer is obliged to provide a benefit due to an uncertain event or circumstance that affects the insured's interests.
Life insurance provides for payment of a capital sum upon the insured person's death. Life insurers only provide monetary benefits. The amount of the benefit is predefined, which means that it does not depend on the actual damage sustained.
Funeral expenses and benefits in kind insurance is a special type of life insurance, as the benefit provided is related to arranging the funeral of the deceased. A funeral expenses and benefits in kind insurer undertakes to provide a service in kind rather than a cash payment.
Reinsurance is the insurance that insurance companies take out to transfer risk other insurers. Reinsurance is effected only between professional market operators, so private individuals cannot take out reinsurance. Reinsurers only enter into agreements with insurers. They can undertake three categories of reinsurance: life reinsurance, non-life reinsurance, and funeral expenses and benefits in kind reinsurance.
How does one bring the professional oath to life in daily practice? Representatives from the financial sector and the supervisory authorities tackled this question at the DNB seminar on the professional oath in late 2022.
Read more The professional oath in daily practice
Insurers in the Netherlands continued to sell direct investments in bonds in 2023, new figures from DNB show. For the fourth year in a row, insurers sold more bonds than they bought.
Read more Dutch insurers continue to invest less in bonds
In view of our continued support for a deeper and more integrated European Capital Markets Union (CMU), De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) present next steps to shape the right policies and create a competitive European capital market.
Read more DNB and AFM: recommendations for a strong European Capital Markets Union
Dutch institutional investors such as pension funds, investment funds and insurers kept their investments in risky bonds roughly the same over the past 12 months. This is a break from previous years: since 2019, large investors had expanded their exposure to what are termed high-yield bonds.
Read more Dutch large investors do not expand investments in high-risk bonds
