MAPFRE keeps top ranking in LatAm non-life

MAPFRE is the international insurance group with the most business in the region, with €9.229 billion in total premiums and a 5.3% market share, according to a recent report from the Spanish firm.

In the non-life segment, MAPFRE maintained and expanded its number one position in the 2022 ranking, with total premiums of $6.468bn and a 6.5% market share.

The overall ranking, including life business, is led by the two largest Brazilian insurance groups, although their operations are concentrated exclusively in that South American country.

In 2022, total premium income for the top 25 insurance groups in Latin America was $107.9bn, 15.5% higher than the previous year’s figure.

MAPFRE commissioned the ranking by its own research and publishing arms, MAPFRE Economics and Fundación MAPFRE.

“The industry continues to show positive post-pandemic momentum, also benefiting from the strong performance seen in two of the region’s largest markets, Brazil and Mexico, all in a context of higher interest rates, reduced inflation, and good performance by local currencies,” MAPFRE said.

The Brazilian market, which represents 34.8% of all insurance premiums in the region, grew at a rate exceeding inflation, 16.5% measured in the local currency, also benefiting from a 4.3% rise in the value of the Brazilian real.

Meanwhile, the Mexican market, which represents 19.3% of the total premiums in Latin America, there was 4.6% growth measured in the local currency, with the value of the Mexican peso increasing by 0.9% in 2022.

Overall, the Latin American insurance market recorded a total of $173.7bn in premium volume in 2022, representing an increase of 15.9%.

This figure is significantly higher than the $153.1bn recorded in 2019, demonstrating recovery of the upward trend that the industry had been experiencing before the pandemic.

The life segment produced a figure of $73.5bn, 15.3% higher than the previous year, with $100.200 billion recorded in the non-life segment, 16.4% above the previous year’s figure.

In 2022, the total premium income for the top 25 insurance groups in Latin America was $107.9bn, which is 15.5% higher than the previous year. If the focus is reduced to just the 10 largest groups, the annual growth level is 13.5%.

“The increases seen for the Non-Life line of business in the most representative markets, such as Brazil (29.9%), Mexico (8.6%), Puerto Rico (7.6%), and Argentina (33%), have driven growth in this market segment for insurance groups such as MAPFRE, Zurich, and Allianz,” according to MAPFRE.

“However, although all of those companies generate about half of their premium income from the non-life line of business in Brazil, only MAPFRE has been able to achieve growth above the level seen for the Brazilian market (29.9% with respect to the previous year), by 2 percentage points,” the insurer added.