2024-01-10 19:34:26
Major insurers and claims organizations have agreed on compensation for consumers who have been affected by investment insurance. This means that the usury policy file may close this year after 25 years. The hundreds of millions of euros go to a small part of the millions of victims.
Al tientallen jaren wordt gestreden voor de compensatie van miljoenen mensen die zijn gedupeerd door woekerpolissen. Na enkele tv-uitzendingen van Radar in 2006 ging de bal rollen. Daarna volgde een juridische strijd die nog steeds voortduurt. Maar door deals over de compensatie lijkt er een einde aan de strijd te komen.
Deze week werd Nationale-Nederlanden (NN), met daarbij ook Delta Lloyd en ABN AMRO Verzekeringen, het met claimorganisaties eens om 300 miljoen euro apart te leggen voor compensatie van woekerpolisklanten. In november vorig jaar stelde ASR (waar ook de Aegon-polissen onder vielen) al 250 miljoen euro beschikbaar.
Zo hebben de verzekeraars die samen ruim vier miljoen van de in totaal zeven miljoen woekerpolissen verkochten een oplossing gevonden voor de compensatie. Eerder gold dat al voor het iets kleinere Allianz.
Woekerpolissen
Woekerpolissen zijn complexe financiële producten uit het verleden. Het ging om beleggingsverzekeringen die vaak waren gekoppeld aan een aflossingsvrije hypotheek.
Bij die hypotheken hoefde je niet jaarlijks af te lossen. Maar via inleg in een beleggingsproduct probeerde je te zorgen dat je je hypotheek na verloop van tijd wel kon afbetalen.
Vanaf eind jaren tachtig tot 2008 namen ongeveer zeven miljoen mensen een woekerpolis. Het pijnlijke was dat mensen slecht waren voorgelicht over de risico’s van tegenvallende rendementen. Ook waren er hoge verborgen kosten.
Compensation goes to small group
That 550 million euros only goes to people who have joined claim clubs. This concerns Vereniging Woekerpolis.nl, the Consumers’ Association, Wakkerpolis, ConsumerClaim and the Woekerpolisproces Foundation.
Approximately 90,000 victims (with 140,000 policies) have reported to ASR. At NN these are comparable numbers. In total, this concerns almost 5 percent of the affected customers.
“The majority of victims are therefore not eligible for compensation,” acknowledges Joyce Donat of the Consumers’ Association. “We have been saying for ten years that you have to register. At a certain point it will stop. This way it is also clear to insurers how many customers they have to compensate for.”
According to Donat, many people “have little insight anymore into the investment insurance they took out a long time ago. And they also don’t know whether they have an extortionate policy. I didn’t know I had one at first either.”
Ab Flipse of the Woekerpolis Association recognizes that few people have reported. “People want to leave the past behind or they think that the amounts are only small. Yet there are cases where people can expect more than 10,000 euros in compensation. That is difficult to estimate for ordinary consumers.”
The victims are now elderly
According to Flipse, it is also a factor that all kinds of insurers no longer exist. Such as Delta Lloyd, which is now part of Nationale-Nederlanden. “People with an extortionate policy at Hooge Huys think they are missing out because that insurer no longer exists. But they can report to Reaal,” he says.
The group of consumers who receive compensation mainly concerns the elderly. “The average age at our association meetings is around seventy years old,” says Flipse.
According to Donat, that is also a reason to find a solution now. “Consumers at that age want to put an end to it. And if it lasts much longer, they would die.”
Ontvang signalen bij nieuws over Verzekeringen.
Only Achmea, Reaal and De Goudse still have to
Achmea, Reaal and De Goudse are the only insurers that do not yet have a compensation deal. Together, subsidiary brands of these insurers sold more than two million extortionate policies. Flipse and Donat call on victims of those insurers to come forward.
Flipse also expects to be able to reach an arrangement with these insurers before March 1. “Then the extortionate policy book can finally be closed, after almost 25 years. We still have to spend a year and a half calculating how much compensation someone will receive. But the fight for compensation will still come to an end.”
No more new procedures
Of the 550 million euros from the two insurers, approximately 10 percent goes to compensation for the claim organizations. They have been litigating on a no cure, no pay basis for more than ten years. In return, they now receive part of the compensation.
According to Donat, a lot of work has gone into all these years and the Consumers’ Association has almost nothing to gain from it. “We are also a non-profit association,” she says.
The claim organizations have agreed with ASR and Nationale-Nederlanden that no new procedures will follow after this compensation.
The two insurers have announced that they will set up funds for distressing cases that have not joined the claim organizations and are still reporting. But, says Flipse: “Then you must have your file in good order.”
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