November 2018
Interview with Eduardo Fábrega, Chief Executive Officer at Assa Seguros
As reported earlier in the year, GEB sold its subsidiary in Panama to an insurer with a much stronger regional presence in Central America and with whom GEB will now partner in Panama and Costa Rica, namely Assa Seguros.
We recently caught up with Eduardo Fábrega, Chief Executive Officer at Assa Seguros to find out more about the company and discuss the benefits of the partnership with GEB. Here’s what he had to say:
“Assa Seguros is a young company, born in Panama in 1973 as a result of a merger of three companies, the oldest dating back to 1936. In 1994, we acquired and merged with a health and life company and grew from there to now hold a strong position in the market: the largest insurer in Panama.
“In 2008, we expanded into Central America via two routes. Firstly, through greenfield operations in El Salvador and Costa Rica. Following the opening of the insurance market by the Government, a free trade agreement opened up between Costa Rica and the US. Assa Seguros represented the first insurance company to operate there.
“Secondly, through acquisition. In 2010 we acquired companies in Nicaragua.
Then in 2015 we acquired four assets previously held by AIG in South America. This activity ensured that our footprint extended to the six countries of Central America.
“In 2016, we approached Generali in Italy.
This was an opportunity for us to tell Generali that we could be their arm in Panama and potentially Central America. It was clear at the time that Generali was a huge company in a small market, with regards to Panama.
And our approach was timely in that it came in line with Generali’s strategy to exit non-essential markets.
“Following an assets, liabilities and portfolio acquisition and regulatory approvals from Panama and Italy, the partnership was confirmed in April 2018.
“Assa not only acquired the existing business, people and processes, but also underwrote a commercial agreement cementing Assa Seguros as the preferred Network Partner for Generali Global Lines. This gives us - and Generali - the capacity to service all six countries in Central America.
What does the partnership with GEB bring to Assa Seguros?
“Multinational companies are used to being serviced by dynamic global companies. The partnership with GEB gives us the access and capabilities to service Latino companies that have operations around the world. It effectively extends our footprint.
“In line with this, we’re also learning about new products and services and plan to maximise access and accountability. One of the challenges in Central America is that the offers currently available are not always smart: they tend to be off the shelf solutions. We can now leverage our relationship with Generali with regards to products and services, giving us the edge to be flexible in our offering.
“For example, through GEB’s health and wellness reporting expertise, we can help companies to be more effective in their behaviour by converting data into projections and putting in place preventative initiatives, demonstrating tangible impact on cost. In this way, we can demonstrate to clients the added value of working with us, as opposed to just passing on rate increases.”