Seven out of 11 Costa Rican insurers report losses in 1Q13

Seven out of Costa Rica's 11 insurance firms reported a loss in 1Q13, according to industry regulator Sugese's latest figures. Mapfre led with a reported 1Q13 loss of 281mn colones (US$562,337), followed by ASSA (102mn colones), Sagicor (89.5mn colones), BMI (72.9mn colones), Seguros Bolívar (58.7mn colones), Asico (39.7mn colones) and Qualitas (700,000 colones). In the same quarter, national state-owned insurance institute INS posted a profit of 8.47bn colones, Pan American booked 489mn colones in profit, Magisterio recorded a profit of 241mn colones and Del Istmo posted 17.8mn colones in profit, according to Sugese's figures. ASSA general manager Sergio Ruiz said the results are "circumstantial" and that he expects the industry to improve throughout the year, according to a report by local newspaper El Financiero. "The industry is still young. We expect to see more written premiums in the market and balances improving over previous periods," Ruiz was quoted as saying. Last year Costa Rica saw premiums grow 17% and insurance penetration reach 2.06% of GDP. Speaking on Central America as a whole, Fitch said it expects rapid long-term growth as the region's insurance industry develops more mass insurance products.