The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) has published the outcome of its follow-up discussions with insurers on “margin personalisation”, after its April 2025 analysis found that loyal customers were paying higher premiums than comparable new customers for at least one product at around half of the insurers reviewed. The discussions on compliance with the product development standard have now concluded, and insurers report they have adjusted premiums and/or pricing policies where necessary. Insurers told the AFM that higher profit margins for loyal customers are undesirable and broadly recognised the figures, while noting that some had made errors in the data they supplied for the analysis. Although insurers stated they do not use customer tenure as an input when setting premiums and the AFM found no policy of systematically increasing premiums for loyal customers, the supervisor concluded that certain pricing approaches can still lead to higher margins for longer-tenured customers, including welcome discounts running on too long for new customers, package discounts available only to new customers, and new propositions with lower margins taken up only by new customers. The AFM reiterated that charging loyal customers higher premiums without an actuarial or other well-founded reason, combined with inadequate procedures to ensure their interests are weighed in a balanced way, constitutes a breach of the product development standard. Several insurers indicated they will use the AFM’s research method, or a variant, to monitor their portfolios on an ongoing basis as part of product development and continuous premium setting. The AFM will continue to focus on the topic and may carry out a follow-up “1-measurement” at a time to be determined.

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