Colombia's SBS Seguros puts tech in crosshairs

The new owner of US insurer AIG's insurance unit in Colombia said introducing more technological changes is part of its plans in the country.

AIG's business in Colombia was purchased by Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings, which took the reins last month after the transaction was finalized.

The business, which operates in the P&C and personal accident segments, has started operating under a new name, SBS Seguros Colombia.

"Having Fairfax as main strategic partner turns us into a company with a more agile service, where there will be more changes in the area of automation," SBS president Martha Lucía Pava was quoted as saying by local paper La República. "It's our long-term bet."

Pava said the Colombian operation, which has 2mn individual clients, grew at a pace of 17% last year and expects to continue expanding in the double digits.

She added that low penetration and fraud are two challenges facing the industry.

In October last year AIG said it had "entered into several agreements with Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, a leading global property and casualty insurer and reinsurer, as part of a strategic partnership that will further focus and streamline AIG's global insurance operations."

In Latin America, AIG has also sold assets in Chile - which was completed at the end of July - and Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela, which are awaiting the regulatory green light.

Under the US$234mn deal, in addition to the LatAm assets and an operation in Turkey, AIG acquires renewal rights for the portfolios of local business written by its operations in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, and assumes some of its operating assets and employees.

Most of the sales have been completed.

Overall, premiums written by Colombia's insurers expanded 10% year-on-year in H1 to 12.4tn pesos (US$4.23bn), according to information from the country's association of insurers, Fasecolda.

For January-June, AIG Colombia reported 204bn pesos in premiums written, according to information from sector watchdog Superfinanciera. Local player Suramericana was the No. 1 P&C player in terms of premiums written, posting 1.05tn.

Total premiums written in the P&C segment were 6.00tn pesos.