As of March 20, the government agreement that requires passenger and cargo transport units to take out civil liability insurance will become effective in the country.
On February 12, 2020, government agreement 17-2020 was published in the Diario de Centroamerica, requiring owners of trucks, panels and pickups, as well as micro and urban buses, taxis, motorcycle taxis and "tuc tucs", to have an insurance policy.
Implementing a mixed system of interest rates composed of a fixed one with a contract for a determined time and another variable agreed between the account holder and the issuer, is one of the proposals that are discussed in the Congress of Guatemala.
The proposal for two interest rates was presented by the Instituto de Investigación y Proyección sobre Economía y Sociedad Plural (Idies), before the Congressional Economic Commission, in charge of discussing the proposals for changes to Credit Card Law 5544.
Although in the first six months of the year, the Guatemalan market increased to 6%, for the growth to be sustained, it is necessary to regulate the obligatory nature of civil liability insurance against third parties and occupants for all vehicles in the country.
Currently, the Guatemalan insurance market has only regulated compulsory insurance in the part corresponding to extra-urban transport units, which slows down the growth potential of companies in the sector.
Improving the presence in cities of the province and taking advantage of the margin of growth that still exists in the metropolitan area are the keys for the sector to grow during the following years.
According to figures presented by the Guatemalan Association of Insurance Institutions (AGIS), between 2017 and 2018 the number of premiums subscribed in the country went from $881 million to $907 million, which is equivalent to a 3% increase.
Guatemalan businessmen assure that the change from Stable to Negative made by Fitch Ratings in the country's risk perspective should be taken seriously, since investments could stagnate.
On April 11, Fitch announced that it maintained its "BB" rating for long-term foreign currency debt default, but decided to modify the outlook because the country reflects political tension and greater uncertainty in agents, as well as a constant erosion in the government's low tax collection.