CORPORATE| 27.03.2023
MAPFRE’s presence at the XIV Ibero-American Business Meeting
MAPFRE’s CEO led the company delegation that participated in the XIV Ibero-American Business Meeting, the most relevant economic forum in the region, which was organized against the backdrop of the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit, at which heads of state and governments of the countries on both sides of the Atlantic intervened, and which this year adopted the motto of “Together for a fair and sustainable Ibero-America”.
The CEO of MAPFRE, Antonio Huertas, took part last week in various meetings related to the Ibero-American Summit held in the Dominican Republic. At the Business Meeting, Huertas pointed out that “insurance is an integral part of the solution required to make progress in the area of sustainability due to our ability to help other industries improve the environment”, but he also qualified that “the climate cannot be the single great guarantor of sustainability, and without losing sight of it, we must put the emphasis on people, on the S for social in the ESG strategy.” “The energy transition is urgent,” added Huertas, “but it’s imperative that it’s fair on people, on the generations that have to tackle it. We can’t ensure a clean, cosy and welcoming planet for our grandchildren if we don’t first protect the livelihoods of the people who live and work in Latin America now.”
Antonio Huertas also emphasized the need to guide public policy so that it protects the most vulnerable among us. “The last six years has seen the period with the highest intensity of catastrophe claims in recent history, and yet only between 25 and 35 percent of them were covered by insurance. The rest of the people who have suffered have known only poverty, hardship and vulnerability. Public-private collaboration formulas are needed to protect people who are at risk of exclusion and can’t recover on their own after a natural disaster.”
Leaders in insurance in Latin America
Among other business meetings, Antonio Huertas also took part in the conference on “Reinsurance Trends. Expectations for the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean”, organized by the Dominican Chamber of Insurers and Reinsurers (CADOAR).
He confirmed the change of cycle in the reinsurance business and the general tightening of conditions, the reality of which are acutely felt in those territories and operations most exposed to natural events.
Despite the enormous losses experienced, Huertas said that MAPFRE RE, the Group’s reinsurer, would continue to offer capacity to its clients without withdrawing from markets or business lines, although logically adapting its technical requirements to the reality of the market.