In brief

At DELA we are proud of the steps we’ve taken during 2002, the growth we’ve achieved and the fact that we managed to maintain the same high quality of service provision despite difficult circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic was still very much at play in the first quarter, and we saw excess mortality rates continue throughout the year. The combination of increased mortality and a tight labour market placed a consistently high level of work pressure on our employees. Sometimes we had to pull out all the stops to be available to our members and the bereaved in due time and ensure suitable funeral services. Doing so meant occasionally pushing the limits of what we could ask from each other. Thankfully people were very understanding and, with a few exceptions, our satisfaction figures stayed as positive as in previous years. We measure customer satisfaction via Net Promotor Scores, and the Group achieved a respectable score of 63.

In February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine and a war erupted close to home that significantly affected our sense of security. It also generated a chain reaction of economic and social effects. Energy prices shot up and inflation rose to unprecedented levels. This in turn affected the affordability of energy for businesses and households, and we too have been affected by increasing funeral costs over the past year. We were able to limit these costs for 2022, and on 1 January 2023 our premium increase was only 2.96 percent – partly thanks to profit sharing. We are pleased with this outcome.

The combination of a global energy crisis with soaring interest rates also impacted DELA’s investment results in the report year, with our invested capital falling in value. In light of the term of our insurance policies our investments are of a long-term nature, which means that results may fluctuate considerably each year. Due to the increased interest rate, however, our obligations also went down, which meant that our solvency – how we measure the financial position of the insurance company – stayed stable. This shows how robust our business model is, even in extreme situations. In that regard, the interest rate rise is good news for our members as it allows for profit sharing which can then be used to limit the premium increases for our Natura policies. 

The cooperative also pushed the boundaries in other aspects in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. A milestone moment in our history came with Belgian policyholders being able to become members. This membership was recently introduced in Belgium and by the end of December 2022 we had welcomed almost 16,000 new members. In addition, the Yarden takeover has given us a good nationwide coverage in the Netherlands. The new colleagues who transferred from Yarden showed boundless commitment and hundreds of them were introduced to our organisation, methods and systems. The fact that the integration of Yarden is going as planned and will probably be completed in 2023 deserves a huge compliment to all involved – especially in light of the shortages in the labour market.

Operational pressure was also tangible in our IT programs. We are slightly behind schedule with regard to our digital transition, but we still expect to be able to achieve our goals for 2025. In Germany we achieved autonomous growth and acquired the insurance portfolio of Monuta, which means that our presence in the German market is growing rapidly.

DELA continues to raise the bar when it comes to service provision for our members. We are proud of the good customer satisfaction levels and reputation, and the fact that we managed to maintain our quality levels. Customers are the focal point in everything we do. This is the only way to ensure members see their DELA membership as valuable and feel supported in all matters related to ‘saying goodbye’ and ‘sharing memories’. The fact that we listen closely is underlined by the level 2 Gouden Oor Award we received in the Netherlands, a recognition for companies that pay heed to what their customers need. We have the same goal for the funeral company and will be making strides toward achieving this during 2023. 

The year under review also revolved around enriching our strategy and shifting our boundaries with regard to service provision. In addition to insurance and funerals, we see a growing demand for supplementary products and services. 

It is also therefore our ambition to provide members with even greater added value from their membership of the cooperative.

The year 2022 also saw us celebrate the 85th anniversary of DELA’s foundation. Over the years we have remained loyal to the cooperative principles of our founders: ‘solidarity works’, and ‘many hands make light work’. The starting points of the original cooperative remain in place today, albeit with a larger scope and a greater effect on society and the environment than ever. We’ve therefore set ourselves the goal to have a net positive impact on people and the environment by 2030 – both via our products & services and in the way we do business. To achieve this, we increased the sustainability of a number of our crematoriums in 2022, including by installing electric cremation furnaces. We have also expanded the electric vehicle fleet for funerals, introduced the first degradable casket and launched a new range of sustainable company clothing. A dedicated CO₂ reduction plan has been drawn up for Belgium and will be rolled out in the coming years.

In conclusion, we would like to thank our members, policyholders, the bereaved and our employees for the trust they have placed in us. We have been pushed to our limits at times in 2022 but have also extended our boundaries. The cooperative concept remains as vital as ever and, despite the increasing individualisation, society’s strength still lies in the connections between people and generations. We understand this sense of solidarity well and strive to live in accordance with it. This is how we know that DELA will stay on course and continue to have value for its members and the wider society.