Investment Summary

Company: QBE del Istmo Compañía de Reaseguros, Inc.

Sector: Financial Services

Country: Panama

Scope Objective: 

QBE del Istmo specializes in reinsurance. It is headquartered in Panama and has a presence in more than twenty countries throughout Central and South America. The company is 60% Panamanian-owned; the remaining 40% is controlled by Australia’s QBE Insurance Group, which ranks among the twenty-five largest insurers in the world. The company serves small and medium-size local insurance companies with a traditional reinsurance product base. QBE del Istmo wrote more than US$202 million in premiums in 2008.

The project consists of a US$10 million investment in redeemable preferred shares. The purpose of the investment is to enable QBE del Istmo to expand its presence in the region and diversify its range of products and services. QBE del Istmo began its expansion by acquiring American Assurance, an insurance company in Panama. In 2008 QBE del Istmo entered the dental insurance market in Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Ecuador. The investment will boost these operations and help the company further develop products and serve segments that are not served by large, worldwide reinsurance companies. In 2008 QBE del Istmo wrote more than 500 dental insurance and/or assistance policies per day in the region.