QBE unit still hungry for more after Boston ART acquisition

The Argentine subsidiary of Australian insurance giant QBE is still hungry for more acquisitions in the workers' compensation insurance market after its Boston ART purchase in January, QBE ART's executive director José Sojo told BNamericas. Sojo said the integration of Boston ART had already begun and the integration of the two companies should be completed within the next couple of months. QBE bought the workers' compensation insurance portfolio of Argentine insurance group Boston Seguros for an undisclosed sum. The company aims to continue to grow in Argentina through acquisitions because it believes that is a cheaper way of expanding compared to organic growth, Sojo said. Organic growth is also difficult to achieve for QBE in Argentina's workers' compensation market because it charges rates higher than the market average and local companies are still very price-sensitive, making it hard to steal clients from the competition, he added. QBE is Australia's largest insurance company and is among the top twenty insurers in the world with annual revenues of US$8bn.