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Oranje Verzekeringen (The Netherlands)

Oranje Insurance Company

image by Eugene Ipavec, 14 May 2006

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Oranje Verzekeringen

Presenting a remarkable flag of an insurance company, water-related but also waterborne: Oranje Verzekeringen, and I only identified it in a roundabout way.
To begin, the Dutch ‘Marktplaats’ site, comparable to eBay, had an unknown flag on offer (no. 1861452513, seen in January 2006, now withdrawn), a white initial ‘O’ on a horizontally divided flag orange-green-orange. Unknown but handy when encouraging some Dutch sports team, so the comment ran!

That same flag was found on the ‘Vlootschouw’ pages, in real life – rectangular flag on photo of the ‘MVS Antigoon’ – and as a drawing, but now in pennant shape. It was identified as the house flag of Oranje Verzekeringen. Website of this company with offices in Groningen and Zwijndrecht:
In 1905, six Dutch shippers wanted to extend their area of operations to Denmark. Because normal insurance premiums were excessively high, they decided to found a mutual insurance company with the patriotic name, Oranje. After some years, the definitive name ‘Oranje Onderlinge Verzekering van Schepen’ (Orange Mutual Ships’ Insurance) was introduced.

Still going strong, Oranje is a premier inland navigation insurance company expanding into the pleasure craft and charter fleet market. This includes the well-known Dutch houseboats! (Traditional insurance contracts are offered as well.)

The company site shows on its logo a long penant. (This version does not show the green stripe slightly smaller than the orange ones, as seems to be the case
with the flag.)
Jan Mertens, 13 May 2006

Oranje Verzekeringen penant

image by Jarig Bakker, 23 May 2006

Following Jan Mertens' report about a flag on Ebay I have sighted the flag of that insurance company several times on ships in the Kostverlorenvaart near my home in Amsterdam. Today I saw it once more on a touring ship for elderly people, the "Vita-Pugna" based in Gennep in north Limburg. On the stem the ship had a small penant, nearly identical to the flag of Oranje Verzekeringen, except that the green stripe was tapering, and the "O" a bit rectangular.
Jarig Bakker, 23 May 2006