Insurance: The week in 10 stories

Brazil's insurance industry expanded in January, fueled by the private pension segment amid plans to reform the country's public pension system.

BRAZIL-PUERTO RICO

Antonio Huertas, president of Grupo Mapfre, outlined the Spanish insurance giant's strategic plan for 2019-21 at its investor day, detailing efforts and progress in Latin America and Puerto Rico as well as offering optimism for the newly simplified Brazil operations.

MEXICO

Mexico City's transport authority has unveiled new regulations on the burgeoning, mobile-app driven scooter and bike sharing market that include requiring equipment providers to acquire an insurance policy to cover potential liabilities.

COLOMBIA

The tech revolution in Colombia's insurance sector will be a decades-long process. That is according to Liberty Colombia president Luiz Francisco Campos , who told local paper El Tiempo that, although insurtechs are now operating in the country and insurance companies are transforming digitally, there is quite some distance to travel before there will be major disruption.

In Colombia, more than 2,200 insurance agencies ceased operating between 2015 and 2018.

CHILE

Confuturo is to become the biggest life insurer in Chile by assets after shareholders voted to absorb sister company CorpSeguros.

Chile's newest private pension fund manager, AFP Uno, has moved a step closer to winning a key tender.

PERU

Peru's executive has submitted a bill that establishes new M&A rules.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Politicians and economists from the Dominican Republic are joining in the debate over President Danilo Medina's proposed overhaul of the social security system, including pension reforms.

REGIONAL

Updating its political risk map for 2019, global consultancy Marsh reported significant improvement in several Latin American countries, with Guatemala, Chile and Paraguay showing the strongest upticks in their short-term political risk indices.