Church and Aegon in sex abuse deal 

expatica.com 

06 March 2010 

Insurance company Aegon has set aside one million euros to cover claims demanded by victims who have been sexually abused by Catholic priests in the Netherlands.  

Any compensation which exceeds the one million euro fund is to be paid by the Church itself. The deal was agreed by Aegon and Utrecht's archbishopric in 2006, according to research conducted by NRC Handelsblad and Radio Netherlands Worldwide.  

The agreement followed a disagreement between the Church and the insurance company over a claim of over 43.000 euros to be paid out to a girl who had been sexually abused by a priest.  

The agreement ended a long-running dispute over the precise coverage of the Church's insurance liability with Aegon. The Church argued that compensation paid to victims of sexual abuse by priests could be claimed as bodily injury. Aegon refused to pay such compensation because it did not want to put a premium on "the abuse of underage children".  

The ensuing legal dispute was resolved in 2006 with the creation of the one million euro compensation fund. The fund will only be used to cover claims relating to sexual abuse that took place before 2000, when the insurance company rescinded its insurance policy with the Church. 

Recent revelations of sexual abuse at a number of religious institutions have prompted dozens of new complaints. Aegon says no one has so far claimed compensation from the one million euro fund.  

Priest sex abuse an 'industrial accident' 

expatica.com 

20 August 2004 

AMSTERDAM — The Dutch Catholic Church has gone to court to force insurer Aegon to reimburse a damages pay-out to a girl who was sexually abused by a priest.  The Bishop of Rotterdam claims the abuse was an industrial accident and was covered by the Church's liability insurance, it was reported Friday. 

The Church's legal action against the insurance company began with a preliminary hearing behind closed doors in a court in The Hague on Wednesday, newspaper De Telegraaf reported. Is it expected the court will hear the case in full within the next six weeks. 

The girl was six when she was abused by the priest in Rotterdam. She took a claim against the diocese and in February 2000 she was awarded NLG 100,000 (EUR 45,000) compensation. The priest was prosecuted for the sexual abuse. 

Rotterdam diocese wants Aegon to reimburse it with EUR 58,000 to cover the full cost of dealing with the case because it claims the abuse should formally be seen as an industrial accident. 

To support its claim, it argues the abuse was committed by a clergyman during work hours and in his work place, his local parish. It further argues that there is a risk that a priest performing his pastoral work may carry out such an attack. 

Aegon told the De Telegraaf it could not comment on the matter as it is before the courts but confirmed the insurer is refusing to cover the cost of the compensation claim.