Products in the category of life, accident and health lead the 6% increase in premiums seen in the first three months of the year compared with the same period in 2013.
Total premiums paid in the first quarter amounted to $42 million, of which 37.4% were for first party car insurance, 21.0 % for fire insurance and associated lines, 19.09 % for life insurance (individual and collective) and the remaining 6.01 % for health insurance.
Private insurers are beginning to outperform the state insurance company and have so far captured a 40% market share.
The ranking of the premiums made by the Superintendency of Banks and Other Financial Institutions (Siboif) reveals that in the case of Seguros América S.A.,in the first quarter of 2013, they led the market with 29.3% of the sector. The company following them is Instituto Nicaragüense de Seguros y Reaseguros (Iniser) with 26.4%, ASSA Compañía de Seguros SA with 18.9%, Seguros Lafise with 17,5% and Mapfre Nicaragua with 7,8%.
During the first half of 2012, the insurance sector in Latin America had a premium volume of $77,085 million, maintaining growth rates of two digits.
According to César Quevedo, deputy director of the Institute of Science at Seguro de Fundación Mapfre, the insurance industry is "key" to this global market.
On presenting the report, "The Latin American insurance market," the official noted that this "is a key region for the present and future in global insurance."
With the amendment of Law 63 of 1996 it is intended that international reinsurers will invest in the country making it a hub for the whole continent.
According to Luis Della Togna, Superintendent of Insurance and Reinsurance of Panama, a draft has been drawn up which amends the law and thereby strengthens supervision, control and regulation of the sector.
Internacional de Seguros and ASSA are the industry leaders of a sector that netted $936 million in premiums in 2011, a 16% growth.
Five companies control the insurance market in Panama: Internacional de Seguros, ASSA, Mapfre Panamá, Assicurazioni Generali and Aseguradora Ancón.
The market leaders are Internacional de Seguros – a company that has been in the country for a hundred years – and ASSA, which controlled 17.98% and 17.09% of the market in September 2011, according to figures from the Superintendency of Insurance and Reinsurance of Panama as reported by Prensa.com. Both companies are followed by Mapfre Panama , with 12.47%, Assicurazioni Generali SpA, with 6.15% with Aseguradora Ancón with 8.71%.
The country's new insurance law restricts which products agents can sell but the restrictions do not apply to brokers.
Insurance agents, due to their contractual relationship with insurance companies, can only offer their products. However, they may do this with different insurers at the same time, provided that these companies' products belong to different categories.