Aegon is a Dutch multinational insurance company based in The Hague, Netherland. The company was formed from the merger of AGO and Ennia. Aegon operates through its leading brand Aegon and Transamerica, while few other region-specific brands include Knab, TKB, MAG and Futuready (Aegon, 2021). The company operates through its offices in Europe, Asia, and The Americas and employs more than 23,757 people across the World. They provide products and services to persons, businesses, bonds, and security insurance. Their main products are life insurance, pension, retirement, and asset management fields. Porter’s five forces model is a valuable tool to identify threats and opportunities faced by Aegon in the insurance sector in the World.
Competitive Rivalry in the Market
The insurance industry in the World is very competitive. The competition means that there is little margin for error. The primary rival of Aegon’s is AXA, Munich Re Group, and Aiva. All of these multinational companies provide multiple insurance, asset management services and products in the World. Aegon is one of the biggest Group Pension providers in the Netherland. Aegon’s significant advantage has a more extensive clientele in Netherland and UK. The revenue of AXA, Munich Re Group, and Aiva are $148.984 Billion (Fortune, 2021), $72.537 Billion (Fortune, 2021), and $89.647 Billion (Fortune, 2021), respectively, as compared to the revenue of Aegon $75.344 Billion (Fortune, 2021). Aegon’s advantage over the competitor is due to its more extensive clientele and multiple products. It caters to individuals, corporate companies, and the government. It had made it difficult for their rivals to compete with them.
Threat of Substitutes
The dawn of the 21st century bought unprecedented technology boom. It is evolving in the insurance industry. Financial institutes are venturing with technological companies to expand the business. BMW is partnering with Swiss Re for Automated Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), which will help them build scores for basic insurance. Companies are investing in Blockchain Technology and other Fintech Startups. Argon established its Blockchain Industry initiative in 2018 (Aegon, 2018). It is to explore and develop commercialization solutions for the insurance industry. Aegon is evolving with time. There are dealing with the growing influence of technology in the insurance industry. The threat of substitute is moderate in the industry, but Aegon is adapting fast with the change.
The Threat of New Entrants
The regulatory industries govern the financial market throughout the World. They set their rules to protect the economies from the crisis. Such as the financial crisis of 2008. The insurance industry is a very closely monitored sector in the World. The cost of compliance and litigation poses a massive threat to new entrants (Deloitte, 2017). The higher initial cost and high sunk investment makes it difficult for a startup to compete with established insurance companies. The major products in the insurance industry are pretty much the same. The 21st century is evolving the financial sector. Aegon is already working on fintech and insutech to fulfill the needs of demanding customers of the 21st century. They, through their subsidiary, Transamerica, are investing in Fintech startups in the USA. The new entrants must come with a new innovative product to compete with those well-established financial institutes. It makes it difficult for new entrants.
Bargaining Power of Buyers
The buyer of insurance products are individuals, business companies, and government institutes. The individual buyers are individual end-users of the product, whereas companies are the retailer or wholesalers (Hill and Jones 2012). The individual buyer cannot exert any power against financial institutes. At the same time, business companies and government institutes can claim better deals. Buyers can limit the industry’s profitability by demanding price reduction, better payment terms, or additional features. A significant portion of Aegon’s clientele is worker’s compensation insurance and asset management. Companies can exert their power because they provide more extensive clientele and opt for their services in bulk. They require services repeatedly, as they offer them fixed clientele, which is beneficial for insurance companies in the longer run. It provides them higher buyer power. The overall bargaining power of buyers is moderate.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
Suppliers typically exert high bargaining power when they are offering exclusive product or specialized services, or when they control the source of the material provided. Suppliers in the insurance industry are mainly of two types. The agent and brokerage firms that bring human capital and corporate clients to the insurance company. The other one is the lending institutes which provide funds in case of payment. Suppliers can exert power if the market has a fewer suppliers and it has clients under him. The more prominent breakage firm can hold some authority due to its human capital compared to an individual client. Aegon has its own field offices in all states of the Netherland. It has pension’s funds, which caters a large number of individual and institutes. Lending institutes hold higher power because they lend loan due diligence. The suppliers need to be forward integrated as well to be able to stick in the market (HBR, 1979). Overall the bargaining power is moderate against the insurance industry.
References
Aegon. (2018). A significant step in commercializing blockchain solutions for re-insurance.
Available at: https://www.aegon.com/newsroom/news/2018/Significant-step-in-commercializing-blockchain-solutions-for-re-insurance/
Aegon. (2021). Our Businesses. Available at: https://www.aegon.com/about/what-we-do/our-businesses/
Deloitte. (2017). The Future of Regulatory Productivity, powered by RegTech. Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/regulatory/us-regulatory-future-of-regulatory-productivity-powered-by-regtech.pdf
Fortune. (2021). Global 500 Aegon. Available at: https://fortune.com/company/aegon/global500/
Fortune. (2021). Global 500 Aviva. Available at: https://fortune.com/company/aviva/global500/
Fortune. (2021). Global 500 AXA. Available at: https://fortune.com/company/axa/global500/
Fortune. (2021). Global 500 Munich RE Group. Available at: https://fortune.com/company/munich-re-group/global500/
Harvard Business Review. (1979) How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy. Available at: https://hbr.org/1979/03/how-competitive-forces-shape-strategy
Hill, J., 2012, Essentials of Strategic Management, 3rd Edition. South-Western,
https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/regulatory/articles/cost-of-compliance-regulatory-productivity.html