Mapfre Re grows in APAC with relationships in Singapore and Japan

Javier San Basilio, regional director Europe at Mapfre Re, said the reinsurer sees its future in building partnerships and relationships with clients.

In the US it is partnering with small and medium-sized companies to provide them with access to Mapfre’s knowledge and exchange opportunities.

The reinsurer is looking at ways to grow while limiting catastrophe exposure and it is not active in casualty lines in the region. “We are not opportunistic,” San Basilio added.

Commenting further on the reinsurer’s decision not to provide casualty cover he said part of the reason was that the business “did not want to build false expectations for clients”.

“While we provide a wide array of services, we cannot provide everything for everyone everywhere.

“Asia-Pacific has been a driver of growth for the last few years,” he told Baden-Baden Today as he highlighted the firm’s work in Singapore and Tokyo to build long-term partnerships. “The culture in Asia-Pacific is like ours in terms of building long-term relationships, so we understand each other,” he added.

An important topic at the reinsurance event has been the recent typhoons in Japan. San Basilio acknowledged that they were severe but said that the appetite for reinsurance businesses in Japan is still there.

“Of course we have to control costs, prices and capacity, but the relationship with clients there is strong.”

Retro has also been a big talking point at Baden-Baden.

San Basilio said: “Mapfre buys a lot of retro and we know how tough the retro market can be and is now. For primary insurers, prices in most areas are getting harder and reinsurers are dealing with that.

“If you scratch the surface a little you see margins are thinning. This puts a lot of pressure on results. In some ways it is a good thing because we have to focus on improving underwriting and improving the technical results.

“It can be difficult to tell a client who has been getting good results that prices have to harden,” he concluded.