The insurance industry in Latin America is an important one and essential to the inhabitants of the region. In fact, Brazil alone accounts for over 40% of it with hospital operators currently expanding and growing in size. Moreover, six multinationals within the field are present in the region, four from Europe and two American including the biggest health insurer and health care company worldwide known UnitedHealth Group Corporation. Altogether, the industry relies mostly on fixed income securities for investment because variable life contracts are rare. In fact, the bond market in Latin America has slightly less than one tenth the size that of the US standing at $ 46 trillion in assets now and just over 3.7% the size of the one the entire world reaches today at $ 119 trillion in assets for 2021 according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association or SIFMA. Accordingly, market participants comprising regional institutions swallow around $ 1.6 trillion of the pie regionwide reaching over $ 4 trillion in total worth of bonds currently. Among regional institutions, commercial banks own about half of it while the rest is shared between pension fund managers and insurance companies. Endowments, on the other hand, represent very little in terms of holdings of fixed income securities because charitable foundations are few and private universities rely on very low budgets covered mostly by tuition. Furthermore, for the purpose of this study, I decided to briefly describe the operations in the region of six foreign multinationals, six Brazilian players, two Mexican companies, two Colombian concerns, two Argentinian enterprises and one Panamanian, Peruvian and Chilean entity each. In addition, out of the 21 firms to be explored, I decided to include six prominent hospital operators and the premier Chilean private pension fund manager operating in the Andean region consisting of Chile, Peru and Colombia as follows:
Allianz SE: tremendous German titan and insurance multinational currently being the second biggest insurer throughout the world. Moreover, its sizable operations encompass asset management being the biggest bond manager globally through its ownership of Pacific Investment Management Company LLC, better known by its abbreviation as PIMCO and based here in Orange County, California. In Latin America, on the other hand, with presence in Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina, the operations of the listed German insurer cover the whole spectrum of services within industry, from auto and life insurance to health insurance and commercial lines. In fact, the company bought the auto insurance division in Brazil of SulAmérica S.A. for 500 million Euros in 2020 and thus in turn became the second biggest auto insurance provider on Brazilian soil after Porto Seguro S.A. In addition, Allianz is the third biggest property and casualty insurer in Brazil while being active in life and health insurance as well as commercial lines. Altogether, Allianz has a rich market valuation of approximately $ 80 billion today, reports over $ 200 billion a year in consolidated revenues and employs over 150,000 associates worldwide while managing around $ 3 trillion in assets sitting in capital markets globally.
Zurich Insurance Group Limited: exceptional insurance Swiss multinational with presence in Argentina, Brazil and Chile. The listed company engages in property and casualty insurance for consumers including policies for auto, homeowner’s, travel and general liability in addition to life and critical illness insurance, asset management for individuals, pension fund management operations and commercial lines. Altogether, the giant multinational employs over 55,000 staff globally and reports over $ 50 billion a year in consolidated revenues. Just recently, on the other hand, the Swiss insurer bought the property and casualty business of MetLife Corporation for $ 3.6 billion in 2020 greatly boosting its presence across the entire continent as a result. In fact, the Swiss multinational wholly owns Farmers Insurance Group Corporation in the US and thus being active in sizable property and casualty insurance operations on American soil.
Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A.: prominent insurance Italian multinational with presence in Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Chile. The publicly-traded company currently reports premium income in excess of $ 90 billion a year worldwide. Moreover, its product line includes policies for life insurance and worker’s compensation, annuity products and pension fund management operations. In fact, Assicurazioni Generali wholly owns AFP PlanVital S.A. which is the biggest private pension fund manager in Chile. In addition, the Italian insurer employs over 70,000 staff around the world.
Mapfre S.A.: biggest Spanish and Portuguese speaking insurance multinational from Spain with a solid presence across all of Latin America except for Cuba and Bolivia. Moreover, the publicly-traded company specializes in property and casualty insurance for consumers including policies for auto, homeowner’s, travel and general liability. Altogether, the Spanish insurer has over 30,000 employees worldwide and currently reports approximately $ 30 billion a year in consolidated revenues.
Liberty Mutual Group Corporation: important American insurance multinational holding a presence in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Chile. The multinational is the fourth largest insurer in Brazil after Porto Seguro S.A and reports consolidated revenues of over $ 40 billion a year globally. Moreover, the entity focuses on property and casualty products and has around 100,000 employees on its payroll worldwide. In addition, the insurer held a presence in Venezuela recently before retreating there by selling for cash its Venezuelan operation known as Seguros Caracas C.A. in 2019 to Asesorías e Inversiones Benjamín, the privately-held holding company of rising Chilean magnate Isidoro Quiroga. In fact, the former wholly-owned subsidiary unfavorably affected the local operations of Liberty Mutual on Venezuelan ground because of the currency controls enforced by the infamous and unpopular administration of the incumbent President of the Republic Nicolás Maduro. Accordingly, Nicolás Maduro is nothing more than an usurper backed by the armed forces there in the besieged and destroyed from within Latin American nation.
UnitedHealth Group Corporation: American health insurance colossus with operations ranging from pharmacy benefits management to EPO, PPO and HMO health plans. Moreover, the company currently reports over $ 250 billion a year in consolidated revenues around the world and has a staggering 330,000 associates on its payroll while reaching a market value of around $ 400 billion. Altogether, the insurer has health insurance operations accounting for 80% of total revenues being in the process the biggest player worldwide while holding a solid presence in Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Chile. In Brazil, on the other hand, the multinational became the biggest health insurer nationally after buying a controlling shareholding in Amil Participações S.A. from the late Edson de Godoy Bueno in 2012 for $ 4.9 billion in cash. In addition, the latter operates over two dozen private hospitals and more than 50 outpatient clinics in Brazil.
Bradesco Seguros S.A.: the insurance concern is a wholly-owned subsidiary of a commercial banking champion in Brazil known as Banco Bradesco S.A. Moreover, the firm is a mammoth insurance player in Brazil after being the biggest of them all across the nation and the region as well. In fact, the company generates revenue reaching $ 20 billion a year while employing over 7,000 agents directly in addition to approximately 30,000 third-party brokers dispersed nationwide. By the same token, the insurer covers all segments of the industry and has 346 physical branches in Brazil without including the network of outside third-party brokers at its disposal.
SulAmérica S.A.: prominent Brazilian insurance champion after being the second biggest firm in the industry across Brazil. In fact, its lines of activity encompass everything from life and health insurance to commercial lines and travel policies being the undisputed leader of life insurance throughout the nation. Moreover, the Brazilian insurer does not compete in auto insurance after selling its local auto operations to the German titan known as Allianz SE. In addition, the company directly employs over 7,000 agents while using a broad distribution network including third-party brokers. Altogether, the national champion trades in Brazil, reports over $ 6 billion a year in revenue and is controlled by Brazilian mogul Patrick de Larragoiti Lucas. Similarly, the Brazilian insurer wholly owns a subsidiary operating in neighboring Uruguay and has over 6 million policyholders in total between the two countries.
Porto Seguro S.A.: third biggest Brazilian insurer. The giant firm leads the industry in Brazil for auto and homeowner’s insurance. Moreover, the entity trades in Brazil and is controlled by prominent local billionaire Jayme Garfinkel. Likewise, founded in 1945, the insurer services around 10 million policyholders, employs over 13,000 staff including agents and reports revenue reaching $ 6 billion a year. In addition, the company wholly owns a subsidiary operating in neighboring Uruguay.
Unimed Seguradora S.A.: biggest not-for-profit medical cooperative in the world. Hospital operator and health insurance operations under the same roof working in a manner similar to Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Corporation, better known as Kaiser Permanente in the US. Moreover, the entity provides health, life, dental, travel, welfare and homeowner’s insurance. In addition, the cooperative has over 105,000 affiliated physicians on its payroll working in 386 private hospitals and servicing over 15 million beneficiaries covered by its health plans.
Hapvida Participações e Investimentos S.A.: hospital operator and health insurer boasting 4 million beneficiaries covered by its health plans. Moreover, the organization has around 17,000 physicians on its payroll while running 28 private hospitals, 82 outpatient clinics, 19 emergency care units, 88 diagnostic centers and 66 laboratories concentrated in the northeastern region of Brazil. Similarly, the entity operates in a manner akin to Unimed and Kaiser Permanente but a for-profit company. Founded in 1986 and incorporated in 1993 by Candido Pinheiro Koren de Lima Senior, a trained oncologist himself, the Brazilian corporation went public on the B3 stock exchange in 2018 being the biggest IPO in Brazil that year. Accordingly, Candido Pinheiro Koren de Lima Senior controls the company along with his two grown sons, Jorge and Candido Pinheiro Koren de Lima Junior, all three sit on the company’s board with Candido Senior holding the chairmanship. In addition, all three became billionaires from the successful IPO of the prime organization going by the name of “Hapvida Sistema de Saúde”. Altogether, the Brazilian health services provider reports combined revenues of more than $ 2 billion a year.
Rede D’Or São Luiz S.A.: growing hospital operator in Brazil. The company offers emergency care, women’s health, cardiology, orthopedic and oncology services. Moreover, the health services provider trades at steep valuation after going public in 2020 while raising a sweet $ 1.66 billion windfall on the B3 stock exchange being the biggest IPO of the Brazilian market that year. Likewise, the company received backing from local investment banking champion BTG Pactual S.A. well ahead of the IPO letting the latter realize rich rewards after the consummation of it. In addition, shares of the company are part of the portfolio of the Carlyle Group L.P. being the biggest holding the American private equity giant possesses on Brazilian soil. Furthermore, the company today boasts 8,000 beds contained in the biggest network of for-profit private hospitals in the country currently numbering 51 units in addition to 30 oncology clinics with operations concentrated in the southern and southeastern regions of Brazil. Accordingly, covering the metropolitan areas of Greater São Paulo and Greater Río de Janeiro, the company traces its roots to 1977 when trained cardiologist and Brazilian billionaire Jorge Moll Filho established a small health diagnostics laboratory in Río de Janeiro. Today, on the other hand, the massive entity reports revenue of nearly $ 3 billion a year and notwithstanding the fact that the hospital operator sold its laboratory wholly-owned subsidiary for $ 750 million in 2010.
Grupo Nacional Provincial S.A.B.: biggest insurer in Mexico. The company has a sizable market share there covering all segments of the industry including earthquake and catastrophe policies. In addition, the entity is active in reinsurance, bail insurance policies and commercial lines. Moreover, the insurer belongs in its entirety to a privately-held conglomerate known as Grupo Bal S.A. de C.V. The latter is a solid holding and diverse assortment of companies containing vast mining operations in Mexico after being its core business and owned by relevant Mexican billionaire Alberto Baillères González. Altogether, the company, better known by its acronym as GNP in Mexico, generates over $ 3 billion a year in revenue nowadays.
Grupo Ángeles Servicios de Salud S.A. de C.V.: mammoth hospital operator in Mexico. The organization runs 32 outpatient and inpatient clinics throughout the republic including pharmacies and biomedical laboratories on the premises. Altogether, the privately-held company employs around 20,000 staff between physicians, nurses and technicians while generating revenues that reach $ 1 billion a year. Moreover, the firm is the crown-jewel of a prominent conglomerate in Mexico known Grupo Empresarial Ángeles S.A. de C.V. The latter participates in hotels, media and financial services activities while owned in its entirety by expanding Mexican tycoon Olegario Vázquez Raña.
Grupo Suramericana de Inversiones S.A.: biggest insurer in Colombia holding tentacles in other national industries such as participation in cement, banking, food processing and various other listed investments including a handful of companies owned completely. Altogether, the entity reports over $ 6 billion a year in consolidated revenues with insurance operations accounting for roughly half of the pie in total. Moreover, the controlling insurance concern offers life, health, property, casualty and commercial lines of insurance including pension fund management operations held under its controlled publicly-traded subsidiary known as SURA Asset Management S.A. The latter expanded a decade ago after buying the pension fund management business of Dutch multinational ING Groep N.V. across all of Latin America for a hefty price tag of $ 3.85 billion in 2011. In addition, Grupo Suramericana de Inversiones, commonly known as Grupo SURA in Colombia, bought the local operations throughout the region of RSA Insurance Group Limited for 403 million Pound Sterling in 2018. The latter, which was formerly known as Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group PLC while controlled by the extended Rothschild banking clan, is now defunct after having been acquired and partitioned by two multinationals, one from Denmark and the other one from Canada. Furthermore, Colombian businessman and former CEO David Bohanini García retains voting control over the holding group and chairs the board accordingly.
Seguros Bolívar S.A.: second biggest insurance firm operating in Colombia. Its product line includes life, health, auto and homeowner’s insurance policies under its wholly-owned division known as Seguros Comerciales Bolívar S.A. while its pension fund management business and annuity products are held under its wholly-owned unit known as Capitalizadora Bolívar S.A. Moreover, the insurer is part of a holding group known as Grupo Bolívar S.A. that holds various business interests including control of the three main ones consisting of the namesake insurer, the Colombian commercial banking multinational known as Banco Davivienda S.A. and the residential builder known as Constructora Bolívar S.A. Altogether, Seguros Bolívar has over 3,000 employees dispersed nationwide that work in 27 physical branches while currently reporting over $ 1 billion a year in revenue accounting for the insurer alone. In addition, Colombian active investor José Alejandro Cortés Osorio maintains voting control over the holding group while acting as its Chairman as well.
Swiss Medical Group S.A.: founded in 1991 by an Argentine entrepreneur of partial Swiss roots who controls the ownership of the privately-held company today, the business boasts over one million beneficiaries covered under its health plans with access to 8 private hospitals, 12 ambulatory medical centers, vaccination centers, sanatoriums, dental offices and laboratory services. Altogether, the health services provider has a sizable number of staff on its payroll including 18,300 professionals working in diagnostics and treatment alone. Moreover, the for-profit corporation, offering both health insurance and medical services under its umbrella, began as a clinic offering maternity services and presently has a prominent position in Argentina offering innovative prepaid medical services. In addition, the health services provider controlled by Claudio Belocopitt operates the affiliate of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association in neighboring Uruguay.
Galeno Argentina S.A.: innovative prepaid medical services provider and insurer founded through various acquisitions including life insurance operations over the last two decades by Argentine entrepreneur Julio Fraomeni. Trained as a surgeon, Dr. Fraomeni began his career in the health industry managing a sanatorium in the Greater Buenos Aires area and today the business boasts over two million beneficiaries covered by its health plans and life policies. Moreover, the privately-held company operates tens of facilities covering the whole spectrum of services industrywide in health including a leading position running sanatoriums throughout the Argentine republic.
Grupo ASSA S.A.: relevant Panamanian listed group of companies specializing in insurance primarily with operations throughout all of Central America and presently being the industry leader in Panama. Altogether, the group is active in insurance operations under its controlled subsidiary in the subregion and based in Panama known as ASSA Compañía Tenedora S.A. In addition, the group controls a residential mortgage lender known as La Hipotecaria (Holding) S.A. based in Panama and a broker-dealer active in capital markets known as Grupo BDF S.A. based in Nicaragua but present across the subregion. Moreover, its insurance business is based in Panama and comprises two divisions, one for consumers and the other one having commercial lines including policies insuring freight and bulk cargo. On the other hand, its insurance division for consumers known as ASSA Compañia de Seguros S.A. offers products including life, health, auto, homeowner’s, travel, robbery, bail and liability insurance. By the same token, the latter generates close to $ 700 million a year in premium income alone. In fact, the group as a whole makes well over $ 1 billion in consolidated revenues a year after being a key business controlled by the Motta clan in Panama. In fact, members of the clan constitute a business dynasty of low-profile entrepreneurs currently led by Stanley Motta who are considered by many to be one the richest clans if not the richest in Central America with holdings spanning from control of Copa Holdings S.A. to banking, insurance, duty-free shops, real estate, wholesale, investments in media, pineapple plantations in Costa Rica and broadband telecom carrier business interests. Furthermore, the group expanded its insurance operations recently by buying the insurance wholly-owned subsidiary in Central America of Assicurazioni Generali for $ 172 million in 2018.
Rímac Seguros y Reaseguros S.A.: biggest insurer in Peru. Its product line includes auto, homeowner’s, life and health insurance in addition to commercial lines. Similarly, other activities of incursion include pension fund management, annuity products and reinsurance. Moreover, the company trades in Peru after fetching around $ 1.5 billion in market value with Inversiones Breca S.A. retaining voting and economic control of it through ownership of a majority block of common stock. Inversiones Breca is the privately-held holding company belonging to the now extended Brescia clan in Peru. In addition, the insurer runs a network of three private hospitals in Peru. Altogether, the insurer reports over $ 2 billion a year in combined revenues.
AFP Habitat S.A.: leading Chilean pension fund management business covering almost the entire Andean region. Boasting around 4 million participants while having over $ 60 billion in assets under management or AUM, the company is a true Chilean multinational after having a solid presence in Peru and Colombia being the third biggest private pension fund manager in the latter nation mentioned. In Chile, on the other hand, the entity is the second largest private pension fund manager after AFP PlanVital. Moreover, the enterprise is listed in Chile and controlled jointly by Inversiones Previsionales Dos S.A. and Prudential Financial Corporation, the two of them of them holding a combined 80% ownership stake. The former one mentioned is an investment vehicle belonging to the Chilean Chamber of Property Developers. In addition, the Peruvian affiliate is known as AFP Habitat (Perú) S.A. while the Colombian controlled unit is known as Colfondos Pensiones y Cesantías S.A.