Mapfre has reached an agreement to acquire the US insurer Safety Insurance for 1.542 million dollars (1.355 million euros at the exchange rate) with the aim of expanding in the northeastern United States, as reported by the company on Thursday night.
Mapfre's goal is to achieve gross synergies of around 26.4 million euros, obtaining all recurring benefits within three years. It is also estimated that the net profit will increase by over 5% thanks to this acquisition, with restructuring expenses estimated at 35.2 million euros.
The operation has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. It is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2027 and will result in the second largest private car insurer in New England, as well as the largest home and commercial car insurer in the region.
Overall, it is expected that Mapfre's division in the USA will record premiums of around 3.900 million dollars (approximately 3.400 million euros), a 50% increase from the current figures, while net profit will increase by 74%, reaching nearly 233 million euros, approximately 205 million euros at the exchange rate.
Mapfre's President, Antonio Huertas, described the USA as a significant "bet for mature and profitable markets and represents a great opportunity to accelerate our transformation."
Likewise, the insurer disclosed its semi-annual results on Thursday night. At the end of June, it earned 624.2 million euros, a 9.4% increase compared to the same period last year, with moderate growth in both revenues (over 19.007 million euros) and premiums (16.126 million), slightly above 1%.
By business lines, non-life premiums increased by 0.3%, driven by the growth in general and auto insurance, the company's main business, which grew by 1.4% to 3.364 million euros. Health and accident premiums increased by 8%, while reinsurance decreased by 1.5%.
In the life insurance segment, premiums grew by 3.8%, reaching 3.812 million euros. Risk Life grew by 8.7%, to 1.448.2 million, while Savings Life contracted by 0.6%, to 2.051.7 million. Life reinsurance amounted to 313 million, a 12.6% increase.
Mapfre managed to reduce its combined ratio by 0.3 percentage points at the end of June, to 92.8%. The company highlights the 3.7-point decrease in the auto segment, bringing it to 94.7%. This figure is significant as the combined ratio measures the difference between an insurer's income and expenses and should be below 100% to be profitable.
By regions, Iberia showed strong growth, increasing its profit by 16.6% to 278.6 million euros, despite a 0.5% decrease in premiums, to 5.978 million euros. The decline in life insurance business was offset by the slight growth (1%) in non-life, where auto insurance grew by 1.7% to 1.299 million euros; in contrast to the 2.2% decrease in general insurance (1.592 million in premiums) and the 3.9% increase in health and accident insurance (949 million). Almost all of the business in Iberia is in Spain.
In Brazil, Mapfre reported a net profit of 136.3 million euros, a 4.3% increase, while the rest of Latin America decreased by 12.2%, to 81.3 million. For the first time, the insurer estimates the potential impact of the severe earthquakes in Venezuela on its accounts at around 25 million euros, although it acknowledges that this is a "conservative" estimate. Antonio Huertas began the presentation of this semester's results by remembering the affected individuals and "expressing his deepest condolences." "It is in these moments that an insurer like Mapfre is defined (...) and our commitment remains to help those affected," he asserted.
In North America, the insurer saw a 6.9% decrease in premium volume, with 1.285 million, but managed to increase its profit by over 14%, to nearly 69 million euros.
Mapfre's reinsurance business saw its revenues decrease by 1.5%, to 4.338 million euros.