Additional information 354 Disclaimer Cautionary note regarding non-IFRS measures Functional currencies Forward-looking statements Annual Report 2013 ■ Lowering of one or more of insurer financial strength ratings of Aegon’s insurance subsidiaries and the adverse impact such action  may have on the premium writings, policy retention, profitability and liquidity of its insurance subsidiaries. ■ Lowering of one or more of Aegon’s debt ratings issued by recognized rating organizations and the adverse impact such action may  have on Aegon’s ability to raise capital and on its liquidity and financial condition. ■ Changes in the policies of central banks and/or governments. ■ Acts of God, acts of terrorism, acts of war and pandemics. ■ Changes in customer behavior and public opinion in general related to, among other things, the type of products also Aegon sells,  including legal, regulatory or commercial necessity to meet changing customer expectations. ■ Regulatory changes relating to the insurance industry in the jurisdictions in which Aegon operates. ■ Changes in laws and regulations, particularly those affecting Aegon’s operations, ability to hire and retain key personnel, the  products Aegon sells, and the attractiveness of certain products to its consumers. ■ Increasing levels of competition in the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and emerging markets. ■ Changes in the availability of, and costs associated with, liquidity sources such as bank and capital markets funding, as well as  conditions in the credit markets in general such as changes in borrower and counterparty creditworthiness. ■ Changes affecting currency exchange rates, in particular the EUR/USD and EUR/GBP exchange rates. ■ Changes affecting interest rate levels and continuing low or rapidly changing interest rate levels.  ■ Reinsurers to whom Aegon has ceded significant underwriting risks may fail to meet their obligations. ■ Changes affecting longevity, mortality, morbidity, persistence and other factors that may impact the profitability of Aegon’s  insurance products. ■ The frequency and severity of insured loss events. ■ Consequences of a potential (partial) break-up of the euro or the potential independence of Scotland from the United Kingdom. ■ Changes in the performance of Aegon’s investment portfolio and decline in ratings of Aegon’s counterparties. ■ The effects of declining creditworthiness of certain private sector securities and the resulting decline in the value of sovereign  exposure that Aegon holds. ■ The effects of corporate bankruptcies and/or accounting restatements on the financial markets and the resulting decline in the  value of equity and debt securities Aegon holds; and ■ The frequency and severity of defaults by issuers in Aegon’s fixed income investment portfolios;  ■ Changes in the performance of financial markets, including emerging markets, such as with regard to: ■ Changes in general economic conditions, particularly in the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the US Private  Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The following are words that identify such forward-looking statements: aim, believe,  estimate, target, intend, may, expect, anticipate, predict, project, counting on, plan, continue, want, forecast, goal, should, would, is  confident, will, and similar expressions as they relate to Aegon. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and  involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Aegon undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise  any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which merely  reflect company expectations at the time of writing. Actual results may differ materially from expectations conveyed in forward-looking  statements due to changes caused by various risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the  following: This report contains certain information about Aegon’s results and financial condition in USD for the Americas and GBP for the United  Kingdom because those businesses operate and are managed primarily in those currencies. None of this information is a substitute for  or superior to financial information about us presented in EUR, which is the currency of Aegon’s primary financial statements. This document includes the non-IFRS financial measures: underlying earnings before tax, income tax and income before tax. These  non-IFRS measures are calculated by consolidating on a proportionate basis Aegon’s joint ventures and associated companies. The  reconciliation of these measures to the most comparable IFRS measures is provided in note 5 ‘Segment information’ of this report.  Aegon believes that its non-IFRS measures, together with the IFRS information, provide meaningful information about the underlying  operating results of Aegon’s business including insight into the financial measures that senior management uses in managing the  business.