MAPFRE was created in 1933 as the Mutual Insurance Company of the Association of Owners of Rural Properties in Spain with the aim of providing insurance for agricultural farm workers. Starting in 1955, the foundations of the organization as we know it today were laid, extending its activity, initially, to other insurance lines such as Life, Accident, and Transport.

During the '70s, it began its international strategy in Latin America with Assistance and Reinsurance activities spearheading the Insurance business. In 1975 FUNDACIÓN MAPFRE began operations and in the '80s MAPFRE, which was already the leading insurance company in Spain, strengthened its commitment to invest heavily in Latin America, culminating in the '90s with the creation of an insurance network that catered to local needs and was similar to the successful Spanish model.

Starting in the year 2000, the accelerating growth of MAPFRE companies was seen in Latin America, an effect which was combined with the diversification of marketing channels in Spain. In 2007, the Group executed a reorganization that provided a new corporate structure and a financial capacity making it possible to continue to increase activities and international expansion. FUNDACIÓN MAPFRE became the largest shareholder and guarantor of the independence of the new company MAPFRE, S.A., which integrates all the Group's activities.

Since then a commitment to geographical diversification and markets with high growth potential, such as the United States and Turkey, has been the driving force behind the Group. In 2012, Antonio Huertas became the Chairman and CEO of the Group, a multinational insurance company with a presence in 49 countries in all five continents and business in more than 100 countries.