Latin American insurance market shrinks as currencies depreciate

The Latin American insurance sector shrank by 3.7 percent year-on-year in 2016 following the depreciation of most of the region’s currencies, according to the latest annual study on the Latin American insurance market.

Total turnover for the industry reached $145.20 billion in 2016, according to Spanish insurer Mapfre, which conducted the study.

The study also showed that the bigger companies performed better, suggesting increasing concentration in the market. If the analysis is limited to the 10 main insurance groups in Latin America, which account for 44 percent of the market’s revenues, the comparison with the previous year indicates a 3.3 percent increase in business, Mapfre said in a June 27 press release.

Life insurance in Brazil bucked the trend, growing by 17.7 percent year on year in 2016.

The biggest insurer by premium in Latin America in 2016 was Brasilprev with $12.80 billion, followed by Brazil’s Bradesco ($11.15 billion) and Mapfre ($8.10 billion).

Mapfre led the non-life market with $6.00 billion in 2016, followed by Brazilian Porto Seguro ($3.27 billion and Puerto Rican Triple-S with $2.83 billion in premium.

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