Seizing the opportunity in LatAm: digitisation and skills key to unlocking the potential
Andrea Baer, Swiss Re; Florian Kummer, Deutsche Ruck; Martin Smith, Pro Global
It has always been a volatile region, but there’s still massive scope for growth in South and Central America. After being hit hard by COVID-19, it’s still too early to say that Latin America won’t face further setbacks, according to panellists on a recent session of the Re/insurance Lounge.
Some good news at last for Latin America: while the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide is again accelerating, the region is, for once, the exception. Recent analysis showed that the number of cases across the region had decreased.
But it’s already taken a terrible toll: the region accounts for three of the five countries seeing the highest number of deaths worldwide. In Brazil alone, well over half a million people have died. Stringent lockdowns have hit the economy hard.
The region is far from being out of the woods: South America trails far behind Europe and the US in vaccine rollouts. IMF research in early June found that just 4 percent of people in Peru (which has the fifth biggest population in the region) were fully vaccinated. The speed with which that’s addressed will be critical in determining how fast such countries bounce back.
Latin America, SARS-CoV-2, Deutsche Rück, Pro Global, Swiss Re, Florian Kummer, Andrea Baer, Martin Smith, Insurance, Reinsurance, Reinsurance Lounge