Interview: Yvonne Hoogerwerf, corporate insurance manager at Koninklijke Wagenborg

Yvonne Hoogerwerf (58) was born and brought up in Appingedam and still lives in the area. She’s not the type who always thinks the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. From the moment she started working, there was always a relationship with shipping – first at an expert appraisal agency for shipping, followed by an insurance company for inland navigation, yachts and houseboats, and then at an insurer for crew members.

So the maritime world suited you?

“Like many people in marine insurance, I sort of stumbled into it. The combination of insurance and shipping did suit me well; choosing Koninklijke Wagenborg and their insurance department was a logical step from there. That was almost nineteen years ago now. Everything comes together here – insuring the ships, all the group’s insurance policies, and the role of insurance broker.”

Koninklijke Wagenborg has an illustrious history and it’s one of NNPC’s biggest members. Could you tell us a bit about the company?

“Koninklijke Wagenborg was founded in 1898. It’s a family-owned company with maritime operations worldwide, providing safe and sustainable logistics solutions. It employs about three thousand professional staff on land and at sea. My job at this wonderful company is in the role of corporate insurance manager. Along with my team, I handle our business units’ entire insurance portfolio. That includes the work we do for our maritime divisions such as Shipping, with its fleet of a hundred and sixty multi-purpose vessels, Offshore, the tugs and towing service Wagenborg Sleepdienst, and the one that consumers are probably most familiar with: Wagenborg Passagiersdiensten, which runs the passenger ferry services to Schiermonnikoog and Ameland. We also provide services for our crane company Wagenborg Nedlift and our shipyard Koninklijke Niestern Sander. And, operating as Wagenborg Insurance, we also have a permit from the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets as an insurance broker. So NNPC isn’t a new name for me – there’s been long-standing cooperation between these two northern Dutch outfits. It’s something that Wagenborg values. That’s why I feel extremely honoured to be able to contribute to NNPC in my new role as a supervisory director.”

As you said, you’ve started working as a member of NNPC’s Supervisory Board. That was on 1 July 2024. Congratulations! Could you explain what that board’s role is within NNPC?

“Thank you for the congratulations. The Supervisory Board monitors what the Board of Directors does. It was decided that it should be a group of three independent supervisory directors plus one representative from NNPC’s membership, which is my position. It means that I’m providing advice and proactively helping think things through, using the experience and expertise I can bring to the table from the shipowners’ side. It’s a different perspective that helps keep the other members of the Supervisory Board and the Board of Directors on their toes.”

Your predecessor on the board, Vertom’s Arjan de Jong, said that the Supervisory Board that he left was a ‘solid group of good people’. How have you found it since you joined?

“Although I’ve only attended a single meeting of the Supervisory Board since my appointment on 1 July 2024, I’d certainly reckon it’s a solid group of people, some of whom I’ve known for quite a while. The fact that they were also re-elected by the members at the general meeting shows that there’s plenty of trust there. With my background and experience, I expect to be a useful addition to the knowledge and know-how that are already present.”

You’ve also previously been a member of NNPC’s Advisory Board, and in fact chaired it.

“Exactly. In that capacity, I’ve been familiar with NNPC at close quarters for a long time. And as a representative of Koninklijke Wagenborg, one of the biggest members, I’ve got a broad perspective on things. On top of that, I know the protection and indemnity market well, and I have useful experience as a member of the Coastal & Inland Committee, the coastal and inland navigation section of NorthStandard, a major P&I club from the United Kingdom.”

What’s the biggest task for you or for the Supervisory Board in general over the next few years?

“NNPC is a relatively small P&I club, but the regulations and all the associated requirements are no different than for a major insurer. Growth is needed. We’ve been working on that for quite some time, rolling out ‘NNPC 2.0’ while looking at the products on offer and at new collaborations. The Supervisory Board puts a great deal of effort into risk management when new products are offered. Personally, I take a very careful look at the social and political environments of the markets that NNPC operates in. Above all, we mustn’t forget the people. It’s crucial that we know what’s going on among NNPC’s employees, because they’re the ones who make the difference.”

NNPC is the only P&I club in continental Europe. What challenges will we be facing in the future?

“The main challenge is about ensuring continuity in the longer term. Because NNPC is a relatively small P&I club, it can provide a high level of service and the staff know its members. And at the same time, NNPC has a lot of loyal members who have consciously chosen us. So I’m convinced that we have the right people working here, people who’ll go just that little bit further to provide services for the members. It’s a mindset that appeals to me, as well as something I can recognise from the background at Wagenborg – it must be the northerner mentality.”

What will you want to be able to say later that you achieved while on the board?

“That’s hard to say when you’ve only just started, but it’s obviously about fulfilling the supervisory role properly, keeping the board of directors on their toes and asking questions about their decisions. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to say that my input, expertise and knowledge have helped make sure NNPC remains a respected name in the P&I world?”