AEGON Around the world by lines of business

AEGON around the world

by lines of business

Life and Protection AEGON is one of the world’s leading providers of life insurance and financial protection products, serving millions of customers across the globe. AEGON companies offer a broad range of traditional, term, universal, permanent life insurance, as well as individual and group financial protection, including accident and health cover. Last year, AEGON’s life and protection business reported operating profit before tax of EUR 1.33 billion, up 15% from 2006 and accounting for more than 49% of the Group’s overall operating earnings before tax.
AEGON offers life insurance and financial protection products at its operations around the world. The Group has leading life insurance businesses in the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom as well as a rapidly growing presence in emerging markets in Asia, the Americas and Central and Eastern Europe. AEGON insurance companies include some of the best-known brands in the insurance sector. They include Transamerica in the United States, AEGON Scottish Equitable in the United Kingdom and AEGON itself in the Netherlands.
Individual Savings and Retirement Products AEGON helps individuals and families around the world save for their retirements, increasingly important as people in many countries live longer, healthier lives. In the United States and elsewhere, AEGON provides a wide variety of savings and retirement products, including retail mutual funds and fixed and variable annuities. In 2007, AEGON’s individual savings and retirement products business accounted for approximately 19% of the Group’s operating earnings before tax.
AEGON provides individual savings and retirement products in its established markets: the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The Group’s variable annuities, savings and mutual fund business is growing rapidly in other countries, too. A combination of strong economic growth and rising levels of personal wealth in recent years has supported an expansion of AEGON’s businesses in Asia, the Americas and Central and Eastern Europe.
Pensions and Asset management Pensions are an important part of AEGON’s businesses, not only in the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, but also in new, emerging markets like the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. In 2007, pensions and asset management accounted for approximately 17% of the Group’s operating earnings before tax.
Pensions are a core part of AEGON’s businesses across the world. With people living longer lives, and governments increasingly shifting responsibility for retirement provisioning to the private sector, AEGON believes demand for pensions will continue to grow in the years ahead. AEGON has a strong and expanding pension business in the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Demand is growing in other regions, too, including China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, opening up new opportunities for the Group.
Institutional Products AEGON’s businesses cater to the needs not only of individuals, but also of institutional customers, such as banks, pension funds, municipalities and private companies. AEGON companies provide institutional guaranteed products, such as guaranteed investment contracts and funding agreements, as well as management, administration and risk services for off-balance sheet items and bank-owned and corporate-owned life insurance. In 2007, AEGON’s institutional products accounted for 13% of the Group’s operating earnings before tax.
AEGON USA markets a range of institutional products to pension and retirement funds, money market funds and US municipalities as well as investors outside the United States. These products include bank-owned and corporate-owned life insurance.
Reinsurance AEGON USA provides a range of life and annuity reinsurance products. The company’s core product – mortality risk transfer – is offered primarily through coinsurance, but is also available under yearly renewable term arrangements. In 2007, AEGON’s reinsurance business contributed 5% to the Group’s operating earnings before tax.
AEGON USA offers reinsurance services not only in the United States, but also in Asia and Latin America, through its Transamerica Reinsurance business unit. Transamerica Reinsurance has operations in Bermuda, Brazil, Chili, France, Spain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States.
General insurance As part of its overall corporate strategy, AEGON focuses on its main businesses: life insurance, pensions and long-term savings and investment products. However, the Group does offer some limited general insurance in the Netherlands and in Hungary – primarily car, liability, household insurance and fire protection. General insurance contributed 2% to the Group’s 2007 operating earnings before tax.
AEGON offers a range of property and casualty insurance in both the Netherlands and Hungary. Generally, AEGON offers non-life insurance cover only when to do so it serves the Group’s distribution objectives.
Sales and Distribution AEGON works through many different distribution channels, including brokers, agents and independent financial advisors. AEGON companies also provide products and services online and use worksite and direct marketing channels. In many countries, banks also play an important role in selling insurance products, particularly in parts of Europe, such as Spain, France, as well as the United States and China. For this reason, in the past few years, AEGON has expanded its web of bank distribution agreements, signing new partnerships in China, Spain and the United Kingdom.