It is important that as many people and companies as possible can take out appropriate insurance. Insurers make agreements about this with customers and with the government.
We can insure about 99 percent of the common risks. But in specific situations, it's not so easy. For example, insuring solar panels and taxis. Or think of people with a chronic illness or physically demanding profession. In those situations, higher risks can have an impact on the premium, terms or underwriting. We then talk about the degree of 'insurability'.
When asked why insurers can't always insure everything, we answer in the video below. For example, there are a number of reasons why insurance is sometimes difficult. For example, if the financial risk is too great, too much damage occurs at the same time or if the damage is already present.
Want to know more? Then also read the paper 'Insurability, distinction and solidarity'.
Young drivers still have to build up their driving experience and have an increased risk of crashes, according to data from SWOV (Foundation for Scientific Research on Road Safety). In addition, novice drivers have not yet built up claim-free years, which means that in most cases they do not receive a discount on the premium . This often means thatthe premiums for younger drivers are higher than for other drivers.
In addition to age, other factors also play a role in the calculation of premiums, 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 claim-free years generally pays more than a 35-year-old with 0 claim-free years. Young people are therefore more likely to exhibit risk-seeking behaviour than older people.
Statistics from the Center for Insurance Statistics (CFS) show that the elderly have an increased risk of harm. 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 person, after the age of 70 that percentage will rise to 5.7 percent for drivers aged 81 and over. This risk is one of the factors on the basis of which insurers calculate the premium. But other factors also play a role, such as the weight of the vehicle, the place of residence, the number of kilometres per year and the number of claim-free years accrued.
If we look at the average premium paid for third-party insurance, we see that the premium for an 85-year-old is hardly higher than for other age groups.
Some insurers have an age limit: above a certain age, for example 75 or 80, you can no longer take out new car insurance. However, if you are already insured, you can stay insured.
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 purchasing term life insurance (ORV) or funeral insurance, consumers must provide information about their own health. Based on this, the insurer's medical adviser determines the chance that someone will die earlier than average. If someone has a higher chance of dying quickly than their peers due to an illness, the insurer may decide to offer insurance. Of only at a higher premium.
As a result, it can happen that chronically illand /or people who have had a serious illness such as cancer in the past are less 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 a personhas been 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 will have to pay a higher premium. This is a complicated message. Evenif your treating physician has said that yourperspective is very positive.
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 brochures and other means of communication have been created to 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. For example, we have Dutch life insurers – as virtually the only one in the world – Twenty years ago agreed that they consider HIV to be a chronic condition that can simply be insured.
Also is in consultation with patient organisations one Prediction model made for former breast cancer patients, which allows insurers to estimate the risk of death of someone who has ever had breast cancer based on current Dutch data .
Finally, the sector is working with the government and patient organisations on a scheme As a result, E-X cancer patients who were cured more than ten years ago no longer have to report their medical history when taking out certain life insurance policies.
Lake Read about the insurability of People with a chronic or serious illness? Then readour Medical Acceptance theme page.
Due to the growing attention for climate change , flood insurance is also receiving more and more attention. In the Netherlands, it is very difficult to offer flood insurance on a large scale that provides coverage against flooding by the sea, the large inland waterways or the large rivers. A number of insurers have tried, but have never succeeded in insuring more than 1 percent of households against this risk. The awareness 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, which means that a large group will not take out voluntary insurance. This leads to unfavourable conditions and premiums for the highest-risk areas. This jeopardises solidarity. We think this is an undesirable situation and have therefore been working on a solution for a long time.
In 2018, we published the Flood Advisory Reportin which we advise our members to also provide cover against local flooding in the home and contents policy. It may 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 flooding together with the government.
Would you like to know more about what the Dutch Association of Insurers and climate has to offer? Take a look at our Climate theme page.
In recent years, it has been found that the number of waste burnshas been excessively high. The Association called on the sector to focus more on safety and prevention and also entered into discussions with the sector about this 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 claim burden in the taxi industry in recent years. Especially in urban areas such as Amsterdam. Does this have to do with driving behaviour, high work pressure, increased traffic congestion, telephone use, crowding at stations or a combination of these factors? The exact cause is not clear, but due to the high damage rate, the insurability of taxis is a problem. At the beginning of 2019, the Association issued a warning to the taxi industry.
Subsequently, in May 2019, we organised a dialogue session on the insurability of taxis. Parties involved were present, including Taxicentrale Amsterdam, Uber, insurers, representatives of the Public Prosecution Service, the RDW and theFoundation for Scientific Research on Road Safety (SWOV). As a result of thisvaluable conversation, SWOV is conducting research into safety and the taxi sector on behalf of the State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management, which may provide more clarity.
Self-employed persons without personnel (zzp'ers) are responsible for covering their own risk of incapacity for work. They can do this, among other things, by taking out disability insurance (AOV). However, some entrepreneurs are less able to take out an AOV or have to pay a (substantially) higher premium than other self-employed people. These are, for example, entrepreneurs with a chronic illness or people who have a strenuous 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. However, they acknowledge that this is not always possible in the current situation.
The solar panel market is booming. Moreand more individuals 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 cost of claims due to or to solar panels. Why is that? Unfortunately, it turns out 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 will cause a lot of damage. Read more about insurance and solar panels.
As a trade association, we regularly receive signals of (imminent) uninsurability or private and business risks that are difficult to insure. The Association does not work on every individual case, but takes action when it concerns a larger group of individuals, companies or professional groups . We will then enter into discussions with other trade associations, companies and politicians to investigate the degree of insurability, identify the bottlenecks and, where possible, start collective initiatives, such as in the waste and recycling sector and the taxi industry.
Insurers strive to ensure that as many (potential) customers as possible can cover risks financially and make every effort to prevent people from being uninsured against their will. To monitor this aim, the 'Solidarity Monitor' has been developed.
Solidarity Monitor