EU unveils plans for a ‘capital markets union’

The EU has unveiled a new plan to encourage companies to tap difference sources of investment.

The European Commission says firms rely too heavily on banks for funding.

It reckons they should explore alternatives, such as venture capital.

The end goal would be to create a single European market for raising capital.

“In the US, SMIs get about five times as much funding from the capital markets or non-bank financing as they do here in the EU. And if our venture capital markets were as well developped as they are in the US companies could have raised an extra 90 billion euros over the past five years,” said Britain’s Jonathan Hill, the EU commissioner for financial stability.

Read more: EU unveils plans for a ‘capital markets union’ | euronews, Europe

European Economy: Future of SMEs: Europe’s economic powerhouses

Small and medium businesses (SMEs) are the heart of Europe’s economy but some have not survived the financial crisis and many others have had to innovate to have any kind of a future. Real Economy travelled to Italy to meet some of those who have risen to that challenge, often tapping into new sources of financing when lending from the banking sector was drying up.

There are some 21 million SMEs in Europe, supplying about 85% of jobs. All that entrepreneurship allows Europe to control one fifth of world trade and that’s why it’s so important to understand these economic powerhouses and why they are so critical.

It works something like this: Jack has a micro-sized glass making company, which employs less than 10 people and makes around two million euros a year. Jack then supplies his glass to Greg’s small company which makes mosaics – Greg has earnings of less than 10 million and fewer than 50 employees. Greg then sells his mosaics to Linda who is a medium-sized mosaic and tile seller. She has 250 people or less on her payroll and her business makes 50 million euros.

However, if any of them are taken over, linked to or partnered with a large company, or are 50% owned by universities or local authorities they may no longer be considered SMEs. Jack, Greg, Linda and others like them create 2 out of every 3 jobs in Europe. Companies like theirs make up 9 out of 10 businesses in Europe, creating the value added that drives our growth.

Read more: Future of SMEs: Europe’s economic powerhouses | euronews, real economy

The Netherlands: Crowdfunding – Dutch investors – where to go?! - by Coen Barneveld Binkhuysen

Crowdfunding is growing exponentially in the Netherlands. Although the Dutch market has not yet reached the astronomical levels of the United States and the United Kingdom, many people have heard about the phenomenon and are intrigued by this potential alternative investment opportunity.

While the Dutch market speaks a lot about crowdfunding, it is less familiar with the term p2p-lending (it is commonly available though).

As this article covers investments in loans, convertible subordinated loans and equity, I will use the general term crowdfunding instead of p2p-lending.

In the first 6 months of 2015, almost 50 million Euro was raised via crowdfunding, which is double the amount raised in 2014.

There are over 80 crowdfunding platforms active in the Netherlands, which makes it difficult for potential investors to gain an overview of the viable available investment opportunities.

In general, crowdfunding platforms in the Netherlands offer the option to invest in loans, subordinated convertible loans and equity (besides donations and the purchase of products). Each of these different investment options has benefits and drawbacks in terms of cash flow, risk and the potential upside can vary significantly:

Loans provide a direct cash flow to the investor as loans are usually repaid in monthly instalments. Loans only have a limited potential upside, maximized at the offered interest rate. Due to the monthly repayments, the risk decreases every month. Most crowdfunding platforms determine the interest rate based on the envisaged risk. As far as I am aware, there are no platforms active in the Netherlands that provide the option to “bid” on loans in auctions.

Read more: Crowdfunding – Dutch investors – where to go?! | P2P-Banking.com

Solvency II: A new risk-based regime for Europe

From 1 January 2016 Europe’s insurers will be governed by a new set of rules called Solvency II. These rules aim to ensure that policyholders throughout the European Union enjoy the same level of protection, no matter where they buy insurance. 

Europe’s insurers have played a significant role in the development of these new rules and welcome their aims. However, insurers remain concerned that certain elements within Solvency II will produce unintended consequences, which could ultimately harm both insurers and their policyholders.

For example, the new rules unnecessarily increase the cost of making long-term investments. This reduces insurers’ ability to make such investments, which are crucial for providing good returns to our policyholders, and which underpin economic growth and stability in Europe.

Through engagement with policymakers and supervisors, however, Insurance Europe is working to ensure that the rules are adjusted so that Solvency II works as planned and unintended consequences are avoided. It is hoped that some of these improvements will be included in actions related to the Capital Markets Union project, and that others as part of Solvency II's reviews processes.

Insure-Digest

Netherlands launches billion-euro small business fund - by Janene Van Jaarsveldt

Small and medium sized enterprises in the Netherlands now have a new opportunity to get a loan – the Netherlands Investment Institution has opened its Commercial Loan Fund, which has about 1 billion euros available to issue loans to SMEs.

Half of that money comes from six institutional investors – Aegon, ASR, Pension Fund Metal & Engineering, Pension Fund PGB, NN and the European Investment Fund, NOS reports. These investors contributed a total o 480 million euros. Banks contributed the other half. The Fund was established last year with the help of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. It aims to encourage investment in SMEs by bringing supply and demand of loans together.

According to the Netherlands Investment Institution, NLII, up until now there were a number of barriers standing in the way of SMEs getting loans. For example, the loans the companies need are too small to be of interest to institutional investors. Or banks being unable to approve a loan because they have too much money outstanding with a company or sector.

The NLII wants to resolve these problems by bundling the loans together, making it more attractive to institutional investors, and making half of the money come from the fund and half from the banks, giving banks more room to lend money. The fund gives loans of between 5 million and 25 million euros, with banks contributing an equal amount. The investors investing in the Fund receive a market interest rate on their investment.

“We are enabling entrepreneurs to make use of a new and additional funding channel worth about 1 billion euros. At the same time, institutional investors re getting a new opportunity to invest directly in the Dutch economy through the Commercial Loan Fund”, according to NLII director Loek Sibbing.

Read more: Netherlands launches billion-euro small business fund - NL Times

Car insurance tailored to your usage (UBI)

The ability to bring internet connection to nearly every type of consumer device will have huge implications for the insurance industry over the next five years. Insurers looking to cut costs, improve business practices, and better assess clients' risk levels, will increasingly invest in the Internet of Things (IoT).

Some auto and health insurers are already offering a new type of insurance — usage-based insurance (UBI) that uses IoT devices to track clients' activity and offer discounts or rewards for healthy and safe behavior. We expect 17 million people will have tried UBI auto insurance by the end of this year.

The usage based insurance market more closely aligns driving behaviors with premium rates for auto insurance. The UBI program mainly includes On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) to monitor the driving habits, pay as you drive (PAYD), and pay how you drive (PHYD).

At present, usage based insurance market has been popularized in Europe and the United States, where the insurers like Allianz, Insure The Box, Progressive, Allstate, and Desjardins Insurance have developed UBI business and made some profits. Meanwhile, the telematics providers in different countries including Baseline Telematics, Masternaut, MyDrive Solutions Limited, Octo Telematics, and TomTom Telematics have continuously optimized OBD devices to assist insurers with accurate usage based insurance market pricing.

Insure-Digest

Dutch Health Insurance System too complicated and expensive say 58% of the Dutch

Most of the insured in the Netherlands are fed-up with the present health-care system. They find the system too complicated and too expensive.

 "It is like a jungle out there when you are trying to find out how the insurance system works and what is best for you and your family". "Lots of confusing choices make it very difficult to figure out”,said working mother.

Recently the marketing organization Pricewise reported that 58 percent of the people insured under the Dutch system today would rather prefer to go back to the old national health-care program if they had the choice.

The choices need to be made simpler, more limited, according to most of the people interviewed

Unfortunately, when the month of November rolls along again and insurance companies in the Netherlands mail out their annual multi-choice policies to customers, it will once again be as confusing as ever for  customers to figure out which company to choose from offering the best coverage for their family and budget.

 Insure-Digest

Pharmaceutical Industry: Does America have the cure for high drug costs? - by Kerry Sheridan

Soaring prices for everything from cancer treatments to hepatitis C pills that cost more than $100,000 have sparked outcry in the United States in recent years, but calls for change have gone largely unheeded.

Now, a growing movement of politicians, patients and doctors is proposing to overhaul the US system, which has no regulations in place to keep drug prices low, by better matching the value of a drug to its actual price tag.

"We need the US system to change in order to see a global change,"said Doctors Without Borders' US legal policy adviser Judit Rius, who blamed a "systematic failure of the innovation system" for rising costs of vaccines and drugs worldwide.

While the problem has been known for years, anger surged this week when video emerged of a young CEO, flippantly explaining why he raised the cost of a decades-old pill for a parasitic infection from $13.50 to $750 overnight.

The clip went viral.

News headlines proclaimed Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli the "most hated man in America," and he soon vowed to roll back the price, but did not say by how much.

Read more: Does America have the cure for high drug costs? - Yahoo News UK

Mortgage Credit Directive: The implementation of the EU Mortgage Credit Directive

On 27 March 2015 the FCA published final rules in relation to the implementation of the Mortgage Credit Directive into UK law.

The Mortgage Credit Directive must be implemented by member states, no later than 21 March 2016 and save for a number of transitional provisions, the new rules will take effect from this date.  It is, however, possible to comply with the final rules from September 2015.

The aim of the FCA and HM Treasury is to implement the Mortgage Credit Directive by using  and supplementing existing FCA rules that apply to first charge lending to retail clients and which are set out in the FCA’s Mortgage Conduct of Business Sourcebook (“MCOB”).

Read More: The implementation of the EU Mortgage Credit Directive - Lexology

E-Commerce: How to Start an Online Business - Internet Business E-Commerce Solutions

Alex Andon wasn't thrilled to lose his biotech job in May 2008. But unlike most of the 2.6 million others laid off that year, he knew exactly what to do next.

"I was a marine biology major in college, and I had some pretty cool fish tanks. I had noticed that jellyfish exhibits had become popular at aquariums," he recalls. "People were mesmerized, but there was no way for someone to keep their own jellyfish, because they need special tanks and special food. If I could build one and supply the food, I knew there was a market there."

Nearly two years later, selling jellyfish tanks through JellyfishArt.com is Andon's full-time job.

In years past, starting a business was a complex, expensive and risky affair, but online tools have smoothed out many of the logistical bumps in the process. We've gathered wisdom from ordinary joes who made good by using the Internet to sell their wares. Here's how to get started.

Start small. Signing up for a personal-blog website on WordPress or Blogger is a simple first step: Just pick a site name, a password and some personal info, and you've got an easily updatable presence on the Internet.

Since these blogs aren't designed for sales, they're best viewed as a way to share your work with the world and,more specifically, to gauge interest. Find relevant communities and message boards online. See if anyone else is selling similar products, and to whom. Whether you craft wood or machine metal or knit kitten scarves, you're guaranteed to find like-minded people online. With your new site, you'll have something to show them.

"The best way to get started is to put up a simple website and see how it goes," says Limor Fried, who founded Adafruit Industries, which specializes in do-it-yourself electronics building kits. Personal blogs require no financial outlay, are easy to update with photos and descriptions of your work and can even net a few informal sales though PayPal. "Adding PayPal buttons for payment is very easy," Fried says. "That's how I started out."

Zach Smith's MakerBot Industries, a New York City–based company that sells kits to build low-cost rapid-prototyping machines—also known as 3D printers—got his start the same way. "At the beginning, it was very much a 'Send me 10 bucks over PayPal, and I'll mail you this thing' type of arrangement," he says.

 This was fine, up to a point. "Beyond 30 or so orders, it gets unwieldy. But at the beginning it's great, because it requires almost zero effort to find out if anybody is interested."

If you sense demand, there are two options for turning a marketable hobby into a real online business: shacking up with an established site, or striking out on your own. Which strategy you pick depends on how easy you want the process to be versus how much independence you're looking for.

The buyer-and-seller culture on eBay is old and established but can be intimidating; a new seller can easily get lost in the overwhelming noise of the auction site. Amazon will let you sell under its banner, providing a free online storefront and order processing. (For the privilege, Amazon's commission can run as high as 15 percent.)

In recent years, a new breed of websites for selling homebuilt products has stormed the scene. Among the most popular is Etsy, which caters to the DIY set, with a special focus on crafts and art. Setting up an Etsy.com storefront is free and takes just minutes. Like Amazon, Etsy handles the entire transaction process, from credit-card processing to shipping calculations, though its fees are lower (listings cost 20 cents per item, plus a 3.5 percent transaction fee on anything sold).

A site called Big Cartel does Etsy one better with a service called Pulley, for selling downloadable goods like music, photography, videos or software. Pulley's flat monthly fees start at $6, which gets you 25 product listings.

Stores such as this are easy to set up and pretty much take care of themselves, but they aren't for everyone. Commissions and fees can choke profits, and being part of a larger site hinders growth as an independent brand. Selling through Amazon or Etsy can feel more like renting a table at a flea market than running your own business.

The alternative? Running a website of your own.

The raw materials that go into a website are cheap to acquire. First, you'll need to find a host for your site. With reputable companies such as Network Solutions and Go Daddy, $20 a month will get you enough space and bandwidth to get started. These sites will also sell you a domain name— a dotcom address of your very own. Unless a domain is already taken, it shouldn't cost more than $20 a year.

Now comes the hard part: building a site. Major Web hosts sell cheap packages designed specifically for smallbusiness owners, which include predesigned site templates, shopping-cart software and options for customizing layouts without the need for HTML expertise.

Some companies, like Volusion, specialize in prefab hosting and website packages for small businesses. Andon sells his jellyfish tanks using Volusion. "I have no knowledge of programming or coding," he says, "yet I was able to build my site on my own."

For a truly custom website design, expert help is a must. Freelancer.com, a bidding market for freelance development work, is a good place to start. Freelancer.com's thousands of listed projects are also an invaluable resource for understanding how much Web design actually costs. (Fair warning: It can cost upwards of $1000.)

Of course, all of your work will be for naught if you can't get paid for it. And the Internet has taken the pain out of accepting credit-card payments, even for brand new businesses.

PayPal offers a free basic merchant account, with no minimum revenue requirements and no need for a credit check, plus simple tools for linking it to common e-commerce platforms. PayPal's commission is reasonable, too, at 2.9 percent of each sale plus 30 cents per transaction.

Read more: How to Start an Online Business - Internet Business E-Commerce Solutions

The Netherlands - Insurance Industry: Family doctors can work together to make deals with insurers

The Dutch consumer and markets authority ACM is to give family doctors and other health practitioners more leeway to work together to negotiate fees with health insurance companies.

The ACM’s chairman Chris Fonteijn told the NRC at the weekend that doctors and physiotherapists can work together if it is in the interests of the patient. What they may not do is divide up areas between them, boycott a health insurer as a group or stop new doctors setting up practices, Fonteijn said. In addition, doctors who do break competition laws will be given a warning before the ACM issues fines, he said.

The Dutch consumer and markets authority ACM is to give family doctors and other health practitioners more leeway to work together to negotiate fees with health insurance companies.

The ACM’s chairman Chris Fonteijn told the NRC at the weekend that doctors and physiotherapists can work together if it is in the interests of the patient. What they may not do is divide up areas between them, boycott a health insurer as a group or stop new doctors setting up practices, Fonteijn said. In addition, doctors who do break competition laws will be given a warning before the ACM issues fines, he said.


Read more: Family doctors can work together to make deals with insurers: ACM - DutchNews.nl

European Car Insurance: 320m European motor insurance policies up for grabs

Analysis by Deloitte, the business advisory firm, indicates millions of European motor insurance customers are now more willing to switch provider than they were in the past. A YouGov survey for Deloitte of 8,688 motor insurance customers across eight European countries found that up to 320 million* policies could switch by 2020.

Whilst half (49%) of policyholders across Europe have been with the same motor insurer for the last three years or more, shifts in behaviour could see this fall by about one-third to 32% in the next five years. In the UK, 14 million private car policies – roughly half of the UK market – could change provider each year during this time.

From now until 2020, Deloitte’s analysis suggests between 60 to 67 million* European policies could be swapped each year.

Deloitte’s findings suggest the European motor insurance market is heading towards a less stable environment where customer behaviours will be more volatile and regulation is shifting how products are priced and sold.

Read more: 320m European motor insurance policies up for grabs by 2020

Insurance Comparison Tool: Google unveils car insurance comparison tool to help you save some money - by Jimmy Westenberg

Google has just introduced a new tool to help you save some money the next time you buy auto insurance. It’s called Google Compare for car insurance, and will display both national and local insurance providers in order to get you the best deal. There are only 14 partners on-board with the comparison tool so far, but the company hopes to add many more in the near future.

Read more: Google unveils car insurance comparison tool to help you save some money | AndroidAuthority

Netherlands - Health Insurance: Dutch go for pricey health policies

Just one in eight adults in the Netherlands has opted for a budget health insurance policy which limits their choice of doctor but offers major savings on premiums. In addition, a majority of people do not dare to set their own risk limit above the statutory €375 a year, even though this can bring down premiums as well.

Three-quarters of people also take out expensive top-up polices as a matter of course, the Telegraaf says on Friday. Next year, health insurance premiums are set to rise by around €7 per month and the own-risk element will go up to €385.

The basic health insurance policy currently averages around €100 a month but can be cut to as low as €63 by pushing up the own-risk and opting for less choice.

Read more: Dutch go for pricey health policies - DutchNews.nl

Conferences: Insurance, marketing and distribution EU - Dec. 8-9

Get the full run down of speakers, attendees and all the hot topics straight to your inbox!

For more information click here

Banking Industry: Nine of the World’s Biggest Banks Form Blockchain Partnership

Nine of the world’s biggest banks, including Goldman Sachs and Barclays, have joined forces with New York-based financial tech firm R3 to create a framework for using blockchain technology in the markets, the firm said on Tuesday.

It is the first time banks have come together to work on a shared way in which the technology that underpins bitcoin — a controversial, Web-based “cryptocurrency” — can be used in finance.

Over the past year, interest in blockchain technology has grown rapidly. It has already attracted significant investment from many major banks, which reckon it could save them money by making their operations faster, more efficient and more transparent.

Read more: Nine of the World’s Biggest Banks Form Blockchain Partnership | Re/code

Banking Industry: Nine of the World’s Biggest Banks Form Blockchain Partnership

Nine of the world’s biggest banks, including Goldman Sachs and Barclays, have joined forces with New York-based financial tech firm R3 to create a framework for using blockchain technology in the markets, the firm said on Tuesday.

It is the first time banks have come together to work on a shared way in which the technology that underpins bitcoin — a controversial, Web-based “cryptocurrency” — can be used in finance.

Over the past year, interest in blockchain technology has grown rapidly. It has already attracted significant investment from many major banks, which reckon it could save them money by making their operations faster, more efficient and more transparent.

Read more: Nine of the World’s Biggest Banks Form Blockchain Partnership | Re/code

Insurance Industry: Citi: Insurance disruption as companies could start tracking workers - by Bob Bryan

Imagine a world where a worker punches the clock and slips on a heart-rate monitor that's tracked by an insurance company.

The worker turns on a truck, which alerts the insurance company it's on, and drives to a warehouse, which alerts the insurance company that someone is there.

Every inch, every activity, monitored and measured by the insurance company.

According to analysts at Citi, this is the future of work, and, despite its Orwellian overtones, it's a good thing.

Todd Bault, James Naklicki, and Alex Gifford at Citi identified numerous trends that could disrupt the insurance industry as it's constructed, and one of the most interesting was their idea of "the Feed."

The Feed would be a real-time link that connects businesses, equipment, facilities, workers, and the insurance company, providing real-time updates on how risky a given situation is.

"But the potential here seems higher for commercial lines: with fewer or no privacy issues, and existing pervasive automation, it seems like a smaller step to embed IoT into industrial (manufacturing) and service (venues) processes, not to mention commercial auto activities like trucking and livery," said the analysts. "Employees in certain high hazard occupations could even be wired and monitored, though there could be resistance here."

By monitoring these operations in real time, the analysts think this could lead to a multistage revolution in the insurance industry.

Read more:Citi: Insurance disruption as companies could start tracking workers - Business Insider

Netherlands Judiciary: Poorly regulated debt collection agencies in the Netherlands are out of control

Dutch consumers who find themselves in a debt collection process are harassed  by the debt collectors, who are poorly regulated by the Dutch judicial system, and usually end up deeper in debt.

This shocking finding has become evident from an analysis made by the Dutch Consumer Association ( Nederlandse Consumentenbond) of complaints they received at their "Debt Complain Center hotline" which was opened in the spring of this year

On this Hotline more than 200 personal, often deeply disturbing and emotional stories, have disclosed how inhumane people are treated .

The Consumers Association says the situation is totally out of control and Bart Combée, Director of the Dutch consumer association says: “the human dimension in this process is completely lost.

If consumers want to contact the collection agency, they often get no answer or the door slammed in their face. If the collection train runs once, he can not stop it, otherwise, than by paying”.

The most common complaints about the Dutch debt collection processes are rapidly increasing and not clearly specified costs. Threatening letters about wage garnishment, foreclosure sales or lawsuits. Even if the debt collection agencies are not empowered to do so, or when it only concerns a debt of a few euro's.

The Consumer Association wants the Judiciary to establish clear and precise regulations concerning the procedures to be followed by Dutch collection agencies and want the Judiciary to firmly intervene when collection agencies violate these rules. It also recommends that companies, collection agencies and bailiffs should be more accessible and willing to offer more customization to the process.

It also wants to see that the intimidating behavior of the collection agencies be addressed immediately..

Bart Combée, Director of the Consumer association says: 'The human dimension is lost. If consumers want to contact the collection agency, they often get no answer or the door slammed in their face.

Once the collection train starts running, it wont stop, otherwise than by paying, usually a lot more than you expected. Even if you dispute a claim. "

Some claims are even based on debts made by deceased  parents of the people who received the claim under one of the many archaic and outdated laws still on the books in the Netherlands including those labelled under hereditary responsibilities. 

 

The Dutch Consumer Agency also wants the Netherlands parliament to intervene in this matter.

Insure-Digest

Netherlands: Small insurers act against the new EU Solvency rules, find them too heavy says Thys van Woerden of DNB

Solvency II is approaching and with still four months to go a little work has been done by the insurers behind the scenes to implement the new rules in practice. Am: put a few questions to Thijs van Woerden (43), division director Supervision of Insurers at DNB, on the progress in this sometimes difficult process..

Small insurers act against the new rules, they find them too heavy. They get leniency?
 
"They can absolutely count on a sympathetic ear. Proportionality is the buzz word. There are two ways to look at that. First, in Solvency II itself is already proportionality, ie for a small insurance company, there are far fewer reports. Secondly, we said let's see if we can make some adjustments to the framework to make it easier and simpler for small insurers that do not fall under Solvency II. That's become Solvency II Basic.  

The discussion we have now is: does this go far enough? There will fix a few things that can be adjusted. But there is also a message which I want to give it. Yes, there is proportionality, but not zero. The small insurers should participate in the new regulations. It's good to talk to us, we listen and be responsive in many ways.

Read more: Thijs van Woerden (DNB): ‘Solvency I kwam letterlijk uit de jaren ’70’ | amweb

INSURE-Digest joins the Europe House "Digest" family

A recent survey showed that in the EU, where there are some 40 different languages and dialects spoken, 51% of the population now mainly communicate in the English language. This number is expected to increase every year.

This not only is happening in Europe, but all over the world, as it turns into a global market place with people, traveling more frequently, English is certainly becoming the “Lingua Franca”.

Europe House which saw this trend coming already many years ago decided to capitalize on it by using English in all it's promotional communications and informative publications.

In this context,  Europe House initially created three electronic publications in blog format.

These publications focus on specific issues, based on collected news items, surveys and reports, which are not always available in the corporate controlled traditional press, and sometimes even withheld from the public.

The publications are the one you are reading now, EU-Digest, launched in 2004 -The other

Turkish-Digest, with news about the political, economic and social scene in Turkey, launched in 2005, and in 2014 Almere-Digest was published to meet the demand of a large number of English speaking residents in Almere - which is considered one of Europe's most modern and ethnically divers cities.

This month the Europe House “Digest family” was again expanded with the launching of INSURE -DIGEST, mainly to comply with the request expressed by a large number of executives from foreign corporations establishing subsidiaries or headquarters in Europe and other countries around the world. Specifically, for better information and guidance, when selecting a new corporate subsidiary location. With the focus on potential pitfalls or advantages re: political stability, local taxes, insurance, health-care and schooling.

For advertising rates in any of our four publications go to the rate-insert in these publications.

EU-Digest

World Trade Center Almere - Cultuur als Motor van de Economie

On Friday September 25 at 17.00 hrs in the business lounge at the lower level of the World Trade Center in Almere there will be a business cocktail for local public and private sector representatives to informally meet and exchange ideas.

The event is sponsored by "Hotspotborrel van Cultuur als Motor van de Economie"

To register: info@cultuuralsmotorvandeeconomie.nl. 

Address of the WTC Almere is, P.J. Oudweg 4, 1314 CH Almere


Almere-Digest

Overpaying for insurance: Here's how to save money - by Jean Chatzky

Most people could save hundreds of dollars a year on their auto insurance, according to a recent survey. In this installment of TODAY'sFree Money series, we'll offer some tips that may help you trim what you pay not just for auto insurance — but for homeowners, life and health also.

Insurance is a complex product — and people find shopping around for it frustrating, so they don't.

According to the J.D. Power And Associates 2013 Insurance Shopping Study, the percentage of consumers shopping around for a better deal on auto insurance is at a six-year low. Strangely, this is happening at the same time that the Internet has made it easier to shop for coverage and to
find discounts.

With that in mind, here are some ways you may be able to cut your insurance costs by tweaking your coverage. Ckick on the link below to see how.

Read more: Overpaying for insurance: Here's how to save money - TODAY.com

The Netherlands: Reinsurance Group Arm to Grow Life Insurance in Netherlands

Leidsche Levensverzekeringen Maatschappij N.V., the Netherlands-based life insurance subsidiary of Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (RGA - Analyst Report) has agreed to purchase the life insurance policy portfolio of PGGM Levensverzekeringen. However, the terms remain undisclosed.

also based in the Netherlands, provides asset management, pension fund management and consultancy services to its institutional clients. Per the closed-block transaction, PGGM will transfer 75,500 life insurance policies to Reinsurance Group.

With the acquisition, the company’s portfolio run-off solutions will find a market in Europe. Plus, Reinsurance Group will benefit from the ‘realignment of the financial services industry’.

Reinsurance Group remains focused on strategic buyouts that strengthen its operations. Recently, the Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) insurer acquired Elite Sales Processing, Inc. in an attempt to bolster its underwriting business in the U.S. In April, the company bought Aurora National Life Assurance Company. Reinsurance Group’s strong liquidity supports its inorganic growth initiatives.

Reinsurance Group holds a niche position in the U.S. and Canada reinsurance markets. Moreover, the company is expanding its international operations to reap the benefits of diversification. It is poised to benefit from the changing life reinsurance pricing environment. Its expanding business in the pension risk transfer market also looks promising.

PGGM, also based in the Netherlands, provides asset management, pension fund management and consultancy services to its institutional clients. Per the closed-block transaction, PGGM will transfer 75,500 life insurance policies to Reinsurance Group.

With the acquisition, the company’s portfolio run-off solutions will find a market in Europe. Plus, Reinsurance Group will benefit from the ‘realignment of the financial services industry’.

Reinsurance Group remains focused on strategic buyouts that strengthen its operations. Recently, the Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) insurer acquired Elite Sales Processing, Inc. in an attempt to bolster its underwriting business in the U.S. In April, the company bought Aurora National Life Assurance Company. Reinsurance Group’s strong liquidity supports its inorganic growth initiatives.

Reinsurance Group holds a niche position in the U.S. and Canada reinsurance markets. Moreover, the company is expanding its international operations to reap the benefits of diversification. It is poised to benefit from the changing life reinsurance pricing environment. Its expanding business in the pension risk t - See more at: http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/187335/reinsurance-group-arm-to-grow-life-insurance-in-netherlands#sthash.vk5S7FYZ.dpuf

Leidsche Levensverzekeringen Maatschappij N.V., the Netherlands-based life insurance subsidiary of Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (RGA - Analyst Report) has agreed to purchase the life insurance policy portfolio of PGGM Levensverzekeringen. However, the terms remain undisclosed. - See more at: http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/187335/reinsurance-group-arm-to-grow-life-insurance-in-netherlands#sthash.vk5S7FYZ.dpuf

Read more: Reinsurance Group Arm to Grow Life Insurance in Netherlands - August 21, 2015 - Zacks.com

USA: Don't Trust the Market's Big Up Days (Wall Street does not represent the US Economy) - by Barry Ritholtz

The market professionals are returning from their long holiday vacations. That may explain why futures were looking so strong Tuesday morning and the market surged at the open, or it may be Shanghai’s late rally that accounts for the brighter outlook. As we have seen, futes can tell us how the markets may open, but not how they are going to close. Regardless, this upswing is noteworthy.

Last month, I said my “greatest concern was the long-term trend break.” Perhaps it's time to revisit the discussion of "How Badly Was the Stock Market Damaged?" As I said last time, that trend break caused significant technical damage. That alone isn't fatal to a bull market, but it does mean that some heavy lifting will be needed to re-establish the uptrend.

Given all of the green on the screen, this could be a good time to think about what big up days usually mean. I am not a big fan.

Why? For several reasons. Typically, they occur when the market has already run into trouble, and are often technical in nature. An analysis by Michael Batnick at The Irrelevant Investor, showed that 22 of the 25 best days since 1970 occurred under the 200-day moving average. That implies they were oversold rallies with some element of short covering. Traders may like them, but long-term investors would much rather see three 100-point days than one 300-point day. The more gradual gains reflect a healthier accumulation and not a reflexive reaction.

Salil Mehta at Statistical Ideas offers further research into the phenomenon. He looked at the number of trading days with greater than 2 percent moves up or down over the past nine years. That period included the 2008-09 bear market, as well as the subsequent recovery rally to new highs. According to Mehta, “extreme up-days (e.g., >2 percent) are generally far more rare than equal magnitude swings to the downside.” The +2 percent sessions accounted for only 4 percent of all trading days since 2006; trading days that were down more than 2 percent over the same period accounted for almost 6 percent of the total.

In other words, almost 1 of 10 trading days over the past 9 years featured an outsize move up or down. Of those outsize trading days, 100 were up and 129 were down. Or to put it another way, more than 4 percent of all trading days in that period were positive and almost 6 percent were negative.

Read more: Don't Trust the Market's Big Up Days - Bloomberg View

EU: President Juncker pushes for European savings insurance

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced on Wednesday a new push to guarantee the money EU citizens have deposited in their bank accounts, even when financial institutions fail.

A common European bank deposit insurance system is "urgently needed" to replace various national savings protection schemes, Juncker said in his

See also: State of the Union speech in Strasbourg.

"What we need is a more European system, disconnected from the purses of individual member states, so that citizens can be one hundred percent sure their savings are safe," he said.

Read more: Juncker pushes for European savings insurance | Business | DW.COM | 09.09.2015

EU watchdog flags new rules for handling failing insurers

Regulators are looking at how they would deal with a failing insurer by applying lessons from banks during the financial crisis, the European Union's insurance watchdog said on Tuesday.August 8.

Global regulators are putting in place rules to make sure they could handle the failure of a big bank without disrupting markets as seen when Lehman Brothers went bust in 2008.

Gabriel Bernardino, chairman of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), said insurance regulators were now looking at what rules were needed to dealing with a failing insurer.

Read more: EU watchdog flags new rules for handling failing insurers | Reuters

The Netherlands: How to be well insured in the Netherlands

Being insured in the Netherlands is seen as common sense. We want to be well insured against a wide variety of situations. Suppose a faulty washing machine floods our apartment (or that of our downstairs neighbours).

What if we accidently spill coffee over a tablet, either our own or somebody else’s? What if our child scratches the neighbours’ car? Maybe our home gets burgled or we hit someone with our car or bicycle. The Dutch know accidents do happen and we want to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Our advice to new arrivals is: ‘Do it like the Dutch’. Then you can rest easy, because we are one of the best insured nations in the world. Eight types of insurance in the Netherlands The average Dutch person has eight different insurance policies. That sounds a lot, but insurance is relatively cheap in the Netherlands and is compulsory in some instances. For example, everybody must have health insurance.

And homeowners must have buildings insurance and car owners need car insurance. In addition, liability insurance and home contents insurance are considered essential and are not expensive. Good liability insurance, for example, costs only a few euros a month. And full home contents insurance is around €10 a month.

Read more: How to be well insured in the Netherlands: in English - DutchNews.nl

US healthcare insurance companies want to raise rates up to 50% or more

A growing number of major healthcare insurance carriers have started filing requests for 2016 rate hikes with their state insurance departments.A number of those rate hike requests will not only silence many Obamacare defenders,they will indicate just how unaffordable the Affordable Care Act has become.

One report stated: “BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee . . . said it lost $141 million from exchange-sold plans, stemming largely from a small number of sick enrollees. ‘Our filing is planned to allow us to operate on at least a break-even basis for these plans, meaning that the rate would cover only medical services and expenses—with no profit margin for 2016,’ said spokeswoman Mary Danielson.”

Similar losses have prompted some carriers to request huge increases. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield in Maryland has requested increases of 30.4% on average over current premium rates.

Puting these raises into perspective. A family paying € 266.00 a month could see their premiums jump up to € 347.00 a month.

That’s a total annual increase of € 972.00 per year.

EU-Digest

Insurance Industry: Ethics in the Insurance Industry rated poorly - by Marco Bendinelli

 Whether it is for legal, personal or humanitarian reasons, ethics can’t be ignored, and this is especially true for the insurance industry.

Unfortunately, the current system isn’t perfect, and newspapers are often rife with stories of people falling out with their providers for a range of issues. An annual ethics poll by Gallup, for instance, has always seen insurance companies fare poorly. In over 35 years, no more than 15 percent of the participants considered the insurance industry to have “high ethical standards.” Clearly, this is something that needs to change.

Much of the ethical issues in insurance are a case of utilitarianism and deontology. The former perspective focuses on the greater good or collective, while the latter believes in personal duties. Insurance businesses are arguably utilitarian, as they look at the larger picture.

An individual customer, on the other hand, is somewhat deontological; they consider their needs first and foremost, with no relevant interest outside their insurance policy. Many problems occur when insurance providers fail to understand these concerns, conducting practices that simply ignore personal objections.

Read more: Ethics in the Insurance Industry

USA: Obamacare has been a bonanza for US Insurance companies

Meanwhile, as Americans are suffering from rising costs and less access to quality health care, the biggest winners from the passage of Obamacare are the insurance giants. In the aftermath of the government health care takeover, there has been an explosion of health insurance company profits, windfalls and megamergers. As “stock market darlings,” health insurance company profits have skyrocketed to all-time highs and stocks have split even thanks to the health care law.

 Reports show the so-called “Big Five” health insurers – UnitedHealth, Aetna, Cigna, Humana, and Anthem – have all outperformed the broader stock market by a wide margin since Obamacare was signed into law in March 2010. That’s why America’s Health Insurance Plans, the industry’s main trade group, filed an amicus brief to defend the Obama administration in the recent Supreme Court case, King v. Burwell. And when the law was upheld, it was no surprise that there was a boost in health insurance company stocks.

Read more: Let’s face it… the only winners from Obamacare were the insurance companies « Hot Ai

Commercial insurance rates decrease globally in Q2 2015-by Rosalie L. Donlon

In good news for commercial insurance customers, Marsh’s August 2015 “Global Insurance Market
Quarterly Briefing” found that commercial rates decreased around the world in most lines of business.

According to the report, the decrease for the ninth consecutive quarter generally can be attributed to competitive market conditions, characterized by an abundance of global capacity and a lack of large insured loss activity resulting in reported underwriting results with favorable combined ratios.

Although decreases were seen across regions and in most major lines of business, “notable exceptions” were seen in specialized coverages led by a firming Cyber insurance market. The report found that the Asia-Pacific region experienced the largest composite rate decrease, followed by the U.K., Continental Europe, Latin America and the U.S.

Read more: Commercial insurance rates decrease globally in Q2 2015 [Report] | PropertyCasualty360

Institutional Investments: How Pension Plans Can Adapt to a New Normal of Low Returns - by Tony Gould

After years of near-zero policy rates, institutional investors are still waiting for a return to a normalized level of long-term interest rates. Whereas many pensions have embraced liability-driven investing in recent years, asset-liability mismatches remain. A rise in long-term bond yields would allow pension investors to close duration gaps athigher levels of funding.

But what if it turns out that we’re in an environment of lower yield and lower returns for longer
than we expected? What if the slow rates of real and nominal growth we have experienced since the 2008–’09 financial crisis are reflective of long-term secular trends?

Let’s consider three underlying reasons why we may be facing lower long-term growth across asset classes.

We believe lower productivity could limit GDP growth and keep rates low. The most reliable long-term driver of GDP growth is productivity growth. Since World War II, productivity has been slowing across the developed world. There are few signs today that a new wave of expansion is imminent. The source of productivity and the factors that influence it are complex questions for economists to debate.

Demographic trends could also constrain rates. An aging population and the subsequent dwindling in the labor force put a speed limit on nominal growth numbers. That implies lower nominal and real interest rates
ahead.

Structural adjustments in Europe, China and Japan will mean slower global growth. U.S. long bond yields are clearly impacted by developments in the rest of the world. Although the European Central Bank has implemented quantitative easing to buy time for Europe to sort out its economic problems, it is hard to make the case for a sustained renaissance in growth on the Continent. In fact,

Europe still faces the prospect of several more years of adjustment to low growth as high unemployment and stagnant wages and then before competitiveness in these countries can be restored. Meanwhile, we believe that China is in the midst of a heavily managed but inexorable decline in structural growth rates to a likely range of 5 to 6 percent on a consistent basis. Japan’s aggressive program of quantitative easing is also helping to depress bond yields globally. Ongoing declines in that country’s labor force suggest that low rates of growth, accompanied by low bond yields, will persist for the foreseeable future.

A lower baseline for risk-free rates in turn implies lower long-term capital markets returns. Low asset return expectations come at a challenging time for institutional investors. Many pension plans are facing recent
or upcoming hits to funded status as they incorporate updated mortality assumptions. As a result, many corporate plans have fallen down — rather than up — their glide paths and are debating whether to derisk at even lower yields or to rerisk and await higher rates. State and local government budgets are increasingly strained by rising pension contributions. In a low-return world, public pension plans will either need to reduce their return assumptions, requiring further contribution ncreases, or reconsider their investment policy.

Read more: How Pension Plans Can Adapt to a New Normal of Low Returns | Institutional Investor

EU: Insurance Distribution Directive Framework Finalized - by Katherine Denham

The
details of the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD), which is
designed to boost the cross-border trade of insurance products, have
been finalised.

- See more at:
http://www.international-adviser.com/news/1024643/insurance-distribution-directive-framework-finalised#sthash.HOeePU0C.dpuf

The details of the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD), which is designed to boost the cross-border trade of insurance products, have been finalized.

The IDD will be submitted to the European Parliament for a vote and to the European Council for final adoption. If it is given the green light, it will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union in the next few months.

The directive focuses on practices for selling insurance products in order to improve consumer protection, market integration and competition across the EU. Member states will have two years to render IDD into national laws.

Read more: EU Insurance Distribution Directive Framework Finalised - International Adviser

The
amended directive, previously called the Insurance Mediation Directive,
contains regulatory requirements for insurance intermediaries –
including independent financial advisers – within European Union member
states.


The IDD will be submitted to the European Parliament for a vote and
to the European Council for final adoption. If it is given the green
light, it will be published in the Official Journal of the European
Union in the next few months.


The directive focuses on practices for selling insurance products in
order to improve consumer protection, market integration and competition
across the EU. Member states will have two years to render IDD into
national laws.

The details of the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD), which is
designed to boost the cross-border trade of insurance products, have
been finalized
- See more at:
http://www.international-adviser.com/news/1024643/insurance-distribution-directive-framework-finalised#sthash.HOeePU0C.dpu

The
details of the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD), which is
designed to boost the cross-border trade of insurance products, have
been finalised.

- See more at:
http://www.international-adviser.com/news/1024643/insurance-distribution-directive-framework-finalised#sthash.HOeePU0C.dp=Read more: EU Insurance Distribution Directive Framework Finalised - International Adviser