Additional information 330 candidates or that Aegon will properly value acquisitions made. Aegon is unable to predict whether or when any prospective acquisition  candidate will become available, or the likelihood that any acquisition will be completed once negotiations have commenced. Aegon’s operating results and financial position may be adversely affected by volatile natural and man-made disasters such as  hurricanes, windstorms, earthquakes, terrorism, riots, fires and explosions, pandemic disease and other catastrophes. Over the past  several years, changing weather patterns and climatic conditions have added to the unpredictability and frequency of natural disasters  in certain parts of the world and created additional uncertainty as to future trends and exposure. Generally, Aegon seeks to reduce its  exposure to these events through individual risk selection, monitoring risk accumulation, and purchasing reinsurance. However, such  events may lead to considerable financial losses to Aegon’s businesses. Furthermore, natural disasters, terrorism and fires may disrupt  Aegon’s operations and result in significant loss of property, key personnel and information about Aegon and its clients. If its business  continuity plans have not included effective contingencies for such events, Aegon may experience business disruption and damage to  corporate reputation and financial condition for a substantial period of time. Aegon may face claims from customers, both individual claimants as well as policyholder advocate groups, and negative publicity if  Aegon’s products result in losses or fail to result in expected gains, regardless of the suitability of products for customers or the  adequacy of the disclosure provided to customers by Aegon and by the intermediaries who distribute Aegon’s products. New products  that are less well understood and that have less of a historical performance track record may be more likely to be the subject of such  claims. Any such claims may have a materially adverse effect on Aegon’s results of operations, corporate reputation and financial  condition. Aegon relies on a combination of contractual rights with third parties and copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to  establish and protect Aegon’s intellectual property. Third parties may infringe on or misappropriate Aegon’s intellectual property, and it  is possible that third parties may claim that Aegon has infringed on or misappropriated their intellectual property rights. Any resulting  proceedings in which Aegon would have to enforce and protect its intellectual property, or defend itself against a claim of infringement  of a third party´s intellectual property, may require significant effort and resources and may not prove successful. As a result of any  proceeding in which Aegon would have to enforce and protect its intellectual property, Aegon may lose intellectual property protection,  which may have a materially adverse effect on Aegon’s businesses, results of operation, financial condition and Aegon’s ability to  compete. As a result of any proceeding in which Aegon would have to defend itself against a claim of infringement of a third party´s  intellectual property, Aegon may be required to pay damages and provide injunctive relief, which may have a materially adverse effect  on Aegon’s businesses, results of operations and financial condition.  Operational risk is inherent in Aegon’s businesses and may manifest itself in many ways, including business interruption, poor vendor  performance, information systems malfunctions or failures, regulatory breaches, processing errors, modeling errors, and/or internal and  external fraud. These events may result in financial loss, harm Aegon’s reputation, or hinder Aegon’s operational effectiveness. Aegon’s  management maintains a well-controlled environment and sound policies and practices to control these risks and keep operational risk  at appropriate levels. Notwithstanding these control measures, however, operational risk is part of the business environment in which  Aegon operates, and is inherent in Aegon’s size and complexity, as well as Aegon’s geographic diversity, and the scope of the  businesses Aegon operates. Aegon’s risk management activities cannot anticipate every economic and financial outcome, or the  specifics and timing of such outcomes. Furthermore, if the contractual arrangements put in place with any third party service providers  are terminated, including contractual arrangements with providers of information technology, administrative or investment  management services, Aegon may not be able to find an alternative provider on a timely basis or on equivalent terms. Aegon may incur  losses from time to time due to these types of risks.  Annual Report 2013 Inadequate or failed processes or systems, human factors or external events may adversely affect Aegon’s profitability,  reputation or operational effectiveness. Aegon may not be able to protect its intellectual property and may be subject to infringement claims. Aegon regularly develops new financial products to remain competitive in its markets and to meet the expectations of its  clients. If clients do not achieve expected returns on those products, Aegon may be confronted with legal claims, advocate  groups and negative publicity. Catastrophic events, which are often unpredictable by nature, may result in material losses and abruptly and significantly  interrupt Aegon’s business activities.