While Historically Complicated, Ageas Has Core Strength and Is an Undervalued Insurer
Ageas is an improving business. However, it would do well to take a leaf out of other mid-sized European multi-line books and concentrate on core markets. Ageas has clear strength in its domestic market Belgium, evolving to be the market leader and is a dominant force in long-term savings. Its strategy in this line is to continue with the ongoing shift to unit-linked products that are capital-light despite lower margins. This is probably one of the reasons behind the company’s gradual but upward improvement in ROEs. Investments have played a decent part in improving customer service and protection offerings that can be sold into savings products, and this creates a sticker set of products and customers. These investments have oriented around improving standards of underwriting, and despite raising expenses the net effect in nonlife insurance has been positive. Ageas has a leading health insurance business with expenditure on health in Belgium being one of the highest in Europe. The firm targets price stability and ambulatory care services.