Crew Reinsurance Brokers rebrand reflects growth ambition in Latin America

Crew Reinsurance Brokers aims to build a fully independent Latin America and Caribbean focused platform. Founder and chief executive officer José Astorqui explains why the rebrand marks a new chapter.

Crew Reinsurance Brokers has adopted a new brand and corporate identity, completing a transformation that reflects a new chapter in a journey that began with the establishment of ATL Re in 2016. 

The rebrand marks the start of a new phase for the company, the firm’s CEO told Miami Reinsurance Week Today. He said it reflects its recent expansion and penetration it has achieved across the Latin American and Caribbean reinsurance markets and prepares us for the new phase of consolidation, growth, and talent attraction.

Based in Miami and offering a comprehensive range of commercial reinsurance products, the broker has steadily raised its regional presence while maintaining its team, operating model and long-standing client relationships. 

Founder and chief executive officer José Astorqui emphasised that the change is not a break with the past, but a clearer alignment between the firm’s identity and ambitions and allows us to be prepared for the challenging political and economic conditions in the region and equipped for opportunities that may arise.

The rebrand, he explained, came from recognising how the business has evolved. After spending much of his career in large corporates, Astorqui saw an opportunity to create a different type of reinsurance broker, one built around independence and sharp regional focus. “We thought it was the right timing in our professional career to establish a proper independent reinsurance broker with no conflict of interest,” he said.

“We came with the idea of the Crew Reinsurance project to reflect collective work and a non-hierarchical organisation.”

A sharp focus

ATL Re was unveiled in January 2024, with a clear commitment to serving Latin American and Caribbean clients. The new name, Astorqui added, better reflects the culture the firm wants to build. “We came with the idea of the Crew Reinsurance project to reflect collective work and a non-hierarchical organisation,” he said.

That positioning is particularly relevant in Miami, which has become an increasingly competitive hub for Latin American reinsurance activity. Astorqui believes Crew differentiates itself first and foremost through its independence and putting client interests first. 

Without the corporate pressures faced by larger groups, he says the firm can remain flexible in how it supports clients and trading partners. “We are now truly independent,” he said. 

Crew has chosen to focus its resources on markets where it believes it can be most effective. It is active in Mexico, Central America and estadoms igualmente estudiado abrir o asociarnos the Southern Cone, including Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. A Costa Rica operation supports its Central American portfolio, providing proximity to cedants across the region. In those territories with more barriers to entry, we are also looking at opening or partnering with professionals we know and with whom we have worked for many years and with whom we share an innovative and entrepreneurial attitude.

Another differentiator is its ability to work across the market without being tied to retail broker alliances. Astorqui says this allows Crew to be seen as a specialist provider rather than a competitor. “We can work with any of them,” he said. “They don’t see us as a competitor, but as a provider.”

That strategy has supported strong momentum. Astorqui describes 2025 as a standout year and says early trading in January 2026 has been equally robust, reinforcing confidence in the firm’s outlook.

Two pillars of growth

The broker’s strategy rests on two main pillars. The first is consolidating and expanding its client portfolio in existing territories, while exploring new international opportunities. This includes an initiative in San José, Costa Rica, led by Ramiro López Villalobos, as well as collaborations with Spanish intermediaries seeking access to Latin American and Caribbean markets.

The second is more structural: developing a regional platform for entrepreneurial reinsurance brokers who want to operate independently within a secure and licensed environment. Crew holds licences across the US, Central America, South America and the Caribbean, allowing new producers to plug into an established framework.

“Parametric is growing a lot. There is demand for it, especially with a lack of cat capacity, and it is here to stay.”

Astorqui says the aim is to create a model similar to entrepreneurial platforms seen in financial and insurance broking, but tailored for reinsurance. Brokers can bring their own portfolios, grow within the platform and retain a meaningful share of the business, while benefiting from infrastructure, licensing and market access.

Operationally, Crew’s business remains rooted in core facultative and specialty placements, particularly across financial lines, property, energy and construction. At the same time, the firm is expanding into areas where regional demand is rising.

Astorqui highlights parametric, marine and group life as a key growth area. Group life, he notes, is particularly significant in markets such as Mexico.

Parametric, meanwhile, is becoming more widely understood and accepted. Buyers are increasingly comfortable with the product, driven partly by capacity constraints in traditional catastrophe lines. “Parametric is growing steadily,” Astorqui said. “People are much more comfortable with it because as it has evolved and adapted better to insured needs becoming much more user friendly. There is demand for it, especially with a lack of cat capacity, and we will witness its expansion and consolidation in the coming years.”

He draws parallels with earlier developments in cyber insurance, where products developed for mature markets initially struggled when exported directly into Latin America. Over time, structures have adapted to local needs. Astorqui believes the same is now happening with parametric, as regional MGAs and specialists design solutions aligned with local buying behaviour.

José Astorqui is the CEO of Crew Reinsurance Brokers. He can be contacted at: jose.astorqui@reinsurance-crew.us.

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