Nationale Suisse buys Spanish insurance portfolio

Swiss insurer Nationale Suisse has purchased a property insurance portfolio from Spanish insurer Asefa as it seeks to strengthen its market position in Spain.

The portfolio comprises property insurance and combined property insurance contracts and is worth around €21 million.

The acquired portfolio will be integrated into the existing portfolio of Nationale Suisse Spain and further developed according to Nationale Suisse's differentiation strategy.

Subject to the approval of the authorities, the transaction will be closed as part of a portfolio transfer in the second half of 2014.

Nationale Suisse believes the purchase will provide it with an ideal opportunity to improve its market positioning and to better exploit future market potential thanks to the additional insurance volume.

In addition, National Suisse believes it will obtain improved access to a large broker network, which also opens up new prospects to the specialty line business in Spain. It is anticipated that this access will be used to generate further growth.

"The takeover shows that Nationale Suisse believes in the Spanish market, despite the generally difficult market situation," says Hans Künzle, chief executive officer of Nationale Suisse Group.