Latin American Developments

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Earlier this year, a Chilean court found an insurance broker liable to an insurance beneficiary for failing to obtain the insurance coverage requested, which led to the insurer denying the beneficiary’s claim for disability benefits. …
Read More Chilean Court Finds Insurance Broker Liable for Failure to Obtain Requested Coverage, Leading to Claim Denial by Insurer

Machua Millett of EAPD recently participated in the 32nd Hemispheric Insurance Conference hosted by the Federacion Interamericana de Empresas de Seguros (FIDES).  Kicked off by a fiery performance by five-time Grammy Award winner Olga Tañon, FIDES 2009 brought together nearly 900 insurance industry representatives from Latin America, North America, Europe and Asia to discuss the status and future of the Latin American (re)insurance markets. …
Read More FIDES 2009: Latin American Insurance Conference Addresses Developing Opportunities, CAT Risk, Insurance Penetration, Climate Change and Solvency II

IRB-Brasil Re, the government-controlled former monopoly holder in Brazil’s reinsurance market, has maintained a 78.5% share of the market’s local reinsurance premiums since the market’s opening, but perhaps at a significant cost to its bottom line. 

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Read More Brazil: IRB Maintains Local Reinsurance Market Share of 78.5%, But Earnings Down 58.5% for First Eight Months of 2009

Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe Limited (LMIE) was recently granted authorization by Ecuadorian insurance regulator la Superintendencia de Bancos y Seguros (SBS) to do business in the country as a foreign reinsurer.  LMIE was advised through the application process by EAPD attorneys Jack Dearie and Machua Millett, together with local counsel. 

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Read More Ecuador: Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe Limited Obtains Foreign Reinsurer Authorization

On Tuesday, October 29, 2009, New York State Insurance Department (“NYSID”) Superintendent James Wrynn announced that the NYSID entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with the Superintendencia del Sistema Financiero de El Salvador (“SSF”), El Salvador’s insurance regulator. 

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Read More New York State Insurance Department Announces Cooperation Agreement with El Salvador

On November 1-4, 2009, Machua Millett of EAPD will be participating in the 32nd Hemispheric Insurance Conference, hosted by the Federacion Interamericana de Empresas de Seguros (FIDES).  FIDES 2009 will bring together more than 800 insurance industry representatives from 22 countries in the United States, Spain, Portugal and Latin America. 

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Read More FIDES 2009: The Latin American Insurance Industry Comes Together

The Paraguayan House of Representatives recently approved the text of legislation, already approved by the country’s Senate, that regulates ratings agencies and replaces Law 1056/97 previously in place for ostensibly the same purpose.  The text of the new law states that its purpose is to regulate ratings agencies and the ratings they issue to banking and other financial companies, including insurance companies. …
Read More Paraguay: Both Houses of Congress Approve Legislation Regulating Rating Agencies

In the World Economic Forum’s recently-released “Financial Development Report 2009,” Peru was ranked number one in the world for macroeconomic prudence.  The report states that the factors in determining countries’ rankings on this index were real GDP Growth, deposit interest rate, inflation volatility and inflation level. …
Read More Peru Ranks First in the World in Macroeconomic Prudence, Leads Latin American Countries on Overall Financial Development Index at Number 29

Eduardo Recinos, Insurance Director for Fitch Centroamerica, reportedly commented recently that the true volume of insurance sales in Costa Rica is obscured by illegal sale of foreign insurance, and that he does not expect either the opening of the Costa Rican insurance market to private competition or the creation of an insurance regulator to eradicate the problem. …
Read More Fitch Centroamerica: The Opening of the Costa Rican Insurance Market Will Not Resolve the Problem of Illegal Sale of Foreign Insurance