Latin American Developments

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While the amount of damages and casualties from Tuesday’s magnitude-7 earthquake in Haiti continue to escalate, various reports have indicated that very little of this damage will be covered by insurance.  This is because Haiti is the poorest country and one of the smallest insurance markets in the Western Hemisphere. 

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Read More Reports – Minimal Insurance Coverage for Damages from Haitian Earthquake

The Chilean Insurance Association recently released predictions that the country’s insurance market will grow by 3.7% in 2010 and 6.7% in 2011.  In particular, Jorge Claude, the president of the association, reportedly stated that the group expects life insurance premiums to grow 2.9% in 2010 and 5.8% in 2011. …
Read More Latin America Update: Growth Numbers and Predictions for Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela

Susep’s superintendent, Armando Vergilio dos Santos, recently stated that he expects the country’s proposed microinsurance law to be approved before April 2010. 

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Read More Brazil: Susep Predicts That Microinsurance Law Will Pass Before April; Study Suggests That Country Could See 33 Million New Microinsurance Customers

As previously discussed here, the government of El Salvador has been considering imposing a tax on premiums ceded to reinsurers.  The original proposal was for a 10% tax, but the government has lowered that proposal to 5% (the proposal still includes a 25% tax as to reinsurers located in jurisdictions considered to be tax havens). 

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Read More El Salvador: Insurance Association Proposes Alternative 3% Tax for Reinsurers

Brazilian reinsurance company J. Malucelli Re has recently received foreign reinsurer authorization in Paraguay, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic and expects to receive authorization shortly in Argentina, Mexico and Costa Rica.  According to its Technical Director, Luiz Alberto Pestaña, these regulatory authorizations are just the beginning of J. Malucelli Re’s plan to become the largest warranty reinsurer in Latin America by 2015. 

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Read More J. Malucelli Re of Brazil Details Latin American Expansion Plans

Max Capital Group Ltd. recently announced the establishment of its Latin American reinsurance operations in Latin America through representative offices in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Bogota, Colombia.  The company also announced the hiring of Carlos Caputo and Sonia Galvis, both formerly of XL Re Latin America, as the CEO and Chief Underwriting Officer, respectively, of Max Capital’s Latin American operations. …
Read More Max Capital Group Establishes Latin American Reinsurance Operations

Mapfre (Spain) and Grupo Mundial (Panama) recently agreed to form a joint venture that would constitute Central America’s largest insurance company, with the move reportedly already approved by Grupo Mundial’s shareholders.  The resulting venture would bring together Mapfre’s subsidiary in El Salvador and Grupo Mundial’s operations in Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. 

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Read More Mapfre and Grupo Mundial to Form Largest Central American Insurer

ACE, through its local subsidiary ACE Resseguradora, recently received authorization as the sixth local reinsurer in the Brazilian reinsurance market.  ACE joins XL Re, Mapfre, Munich Re, J. Malucelli Re and IRB-Brasil Re as the only reinsurers in the Brazilian market unfettered by cession limits and/or rights of first refusal. 

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Read More Brazil: ACE Becomes Sixth Local Reinsurer