Reinsurance unit drives solid growth at MAPFRE as earnings spike

Spanish re/insurer company MAPFRE reported a 15.2 percent hike in earnings in 2019. Its premiums also rose, partly thanks to the solid performance of the business in Spain, the Latam North regional area and in its reinsurance business.

It noted that its results were hit by the cost of the Faxai and Hagibis typhoons in Japan (€107 million), the damage caused by riots in Chile (€24 million) and damage caused by heavy rain and storms in Spain (€17 million), among other events.

MAPFRE’s net earnings in 2019 reached €609 million, a 15.2 percent increase on 2018, while its gross written premiums were €23 billion, a 2.2 percent increase on the €22.5 billion of business it wrote in 2018.

Premiums in its reinsurance unit were €4.52 billion in 2019, 19.4 percent higher than in the previous year. Net earnings for the reinsurance business stood at €77 million, down 48 percent due to the effects of the Faxai and Hagibis typhoons (€107 million) and the riots in Chile (€20 million).

MAPFRE’s combined ratio was 97.6 percent in 2019, which it said reflects the improvement of the profitability of its book in Brazil, Latam North and the US.

Significant regional results for 2019 include a 44.6 percent hike in earnings in Latam North and a 79 percent growth in earnings in Brazil.

In the US, earnings increased seven-fold but premiums were down by 3.9 percent due to underwriting measures taken that affected both existing portfolio renewals and new business, and the withdrawal from some states, with the aim of enhancing overall business profitability.

In Spain, premiums stood at €7.58 billion, up 0.8 percent, compared to a 0.4 percent drop for the market as a whole.

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