Advent and Brit, two Lloyd’s insurers, have been represented on the Lloyd’s Colombia Platform, alongside the Lloyd’s representative office.
Led by the first Colombian General Representative for Lloyd’s, Juan Carlos Realphe, the new office was created to focus on developing trade relationships in the Latin America market, which is expanding quickly.
The Chairman of Lloyd’s, John Nelson, called Colombia “An important part of Lloyd’s future growth strategy, both as a fast-growth market and as a gateway to Latin America.” He was reportedly delighted to be expanding into the Latin American market through Colombia, “a growing economy which is making significant investments for the future.” Beneficial for Lloyd’s growth into this emerging market is the fact that insurance penetration there is one of the lowest in the region, at just 1.6% GDP.
Furthermore, according to Nelson, “as Colombia realises its economic potential, insurance and reinsurance can play a key role in supporting this economic growth by improving resilience, taking risks out of the country, and helping the economy recover after catastrophes.”
While in Colombia to open the new office, Nelson met with Colombia President Santos and the country’s Minister of Finance, Mauricio Cárdenas. In the meeting held at the Presidential Palace in Bogota, they spoke about Colombia’s economic and political transformation in the past decade, and how insurance can play a vital role in supporting and protecting the country’s long-term business and economic growth.
Finally, Lloyd’s held a launch event attended by insurance professionals in the country, where Nelson highlighted the Colombian Government’s “4G” infrastructure project. Through it, 8,000 kilometres of roadway and 3,500 kilometres of four-lane highway will be developed throughout the country
This project will serve to boost the Colombian economy and drive increased growth for the future. With the nation’s government keen to increase Colombia’s competitiveness in Latin America, there is, as Nelson stated at the event, “a real sense of global confidence in Colombia’s future.”
Initiatives such as the 4G project and Lloyd’s entering the Colombian market will help protect their economic growth and further support Colombian businesses as they work to expand into new markets themselves.
In the words of Nelson, “by leveraging our world-class brand; by bringing our underwriting expertise, innovation and financial strength to help attract new business into the Colombian economy – we think we can add real value that will benefit the country as a whole.“
