Pan-American
Life President:
Expansion Into
Costa Rica a
'Natural Step'
Pan-American
Life Insurance
Group said its
subsidiary,
Pan-American
Life Insurance
de Costa Rica,
has received
final approval
from the Costa
Rican insurance
regulator to
operate in the
country.
The move is "a
natural step
that supports
the company's
geographic
expansion and
regional
strategic plan,"
Jose S. Suquet,
chairman,
president and
chief executive
officer of
Pan-American
Life Insurance
Group, said in
an e-mail. He
said "entry into
Costa Rica will
complete our
total coverage
in the region."
Pan-America Life
will offer a
portfolio of
individual
health
insurance, as
well as group
life, accident
and health
insurance
products, the
company said.
Among the
offerings is a
new medical
insurance
product that
will offer both
local benefits,
with access to
in-country
providers, as
well as access
to global
medical networks
and providers,
including in the
United States.
"The Costa Rican
insurance market
is ready for
substantial
expansion, and
the growth
potential is
overwhelmingly
evident when
considering that
Costa Rica's
close
neighboring
personal
insurance
market, Panama,
is almost four
times greater in
terms of
premiums, even
though both
countries' per
capita GNP are
similar," Suquet
said, noting
Costa Rica has
roughly 1
million people
more than
Panama. Costa
Rica is
currently
Central
America's
second-largest
insurance market
behind Panama,
where
Pan-American
Life has had
operations since
1912, he said.
He noted Costa
Rica recently
approved a new
law authorizing
private
competition in
the insurance
market. "The new
competitive
landscape in
Costa Rica
favors
Pan-American
Life,
considering the
company's
99-year history
and the group's
deep-rooted
experience
throughout Latin
America," Suquet
said.
Pan-American
Life operates
through branches
and subsidiaries
in six countries
in the Caribbean
Basin. The
company benefits
from its brand
recognition in
most of its
markets,
according to
BestLink, which
provides online
access to A.M.
Best's Global
Insurance &
Banking
Database.
Pan-American
"will focus on
growing its
Latin American
business through
the expanded
distribution and
new products
focused on the
group and
individual life
market and
individual
health. Domestic
growth will
focus on
work-site
marketing to the
U.S. Hispanic
market,"
according to
BestLink.
Pan-American
Life Insurance
de Costa Rica
S.A. executive
offices will be
located in San
Jose and will be
led by Alfredo
Ramirez, Costa
Rica country
manager.
Pan-American
Life also has
offices and
affiliates in
Honduras,
Guatemala and El
Salvador; and a
strategic
alliance with a
leading
insurance
provider in
Nicaragua to
accommodate
multinational
clients, Suquet
said.
Despite
substantial
barriers to
entry for new
companies, the
increased
attractiveness
of Latin
American
insurance
markets could
potentially lead
to increased
competition in
this segment,
according to
BestLink.
Pan-American
Life Insurance
Co. operates as
a mutual life
insurance
organization and
was originally
formed to write
business in the
Caribbean basin,
according to
BestLink. The
company also
markets
work-site
business in the
United States.
Subsidiaries
include
Pan-American
Assurance Co., a
direct writer of
universal life
insurance, and
International
Reinsurance Co.,
a reinsurer of
life and health
insurance from
Pan-American
Life's
associated
companies and
branch offices
in Latin
America. |
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