The Guatemalan insurance association reports that at the end of the year premiums totaled $926 million, 8% more than in 2016.
According to a report presented by the Guatemalan Association of Insurance Institutions, the growth of 7.7% was below the 9% that had been foreseen for 2017.It should be noted that medical insurance exceeded expectations, growing above 10%.
Nearly three years after the crisis caused by the No Pago movement, the sector is growing at an annual rate of 12%, driven by traditional credit, micro-insurance, and health services.
The microfinance sector is beginning its gradual and cautious return to agriculture, the sector most affected by the No Payment Movement, and is taking risks in projects by small agritourism farms.
A report by SUGESE contains information on Basic Indicators, Market Structure and Participants and Products.
December 2012 Bulletin from the Superintendent of Insurance (SUGESE):
Basic Indicators
The total amount of direct premiums was ¢466.2 billion in 2012, with 69% of that amount corresponding to voluntary insurance. The retention of these total direct premiums compared to 2011 remained at 81% and the total retained earned premiums (allocated ) increased from 96% in 2011 to 91% in 2012.
Alesia Rodríguez, one of the leading speakers at the Second Central American Insurance Symposium, suggested that companies in the region should offer micro-policies to the poor.
Micro-policies could cover health and funeral services, two of the main concerns of people of all social classes, Rodríguez said. Micro-policies for funeral expenses had proved particularly popular in other countries, she added.
In an effort to expand their market, insurers in El Salvador are weighing the possibility of following the example of their counterparts in Mexico who offer micro-policies that provide benefits of as much as US$8,000 for a one-dollar premium.
"This type of insurance is very interesting because it brings our industry's benefits to poor people who don't figure on company payrolls," said Raúl Betancourt, executive director of the Salvadoran Insurers' Association (Ases).