The Insurance and Reinsurance Department of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge is holding a 60 minute complimentary webinar entitled "¿Seguro? Opportunities and Risks for (Re)Insurers in Latin America in 2010 and Beyond" on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 10:00

The Superintendencia de Seguros Privados (SUSEP), recently released statistics regarding the performance of the Brazilian insurance market through the end of August 2009.

Total premiums for the previous twelve months as of the end of September 2009 reached US$ 5.35 billion, up US$ 462.16 million (9.46%) over the twelve month period ending September 2008.

Mexico recently issued a US $290 million series of notes to provide cover for earthquake and hurricane list under the World Bank's new MultiCat Program, becoming the first country to use the new platform.

As of Sunday January 17, 2010, foreign reinsurers will be permitted access to a larger portion of the Brazilian reinsurance market as local reinsurers' right of first refusal will be reduced from 60% of risks in the market to only 40%.

The Superintendencia de Pensiones (Supen), the interim regulator of the Costa Rican insurance market, recently issued an opinion stating that the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) and its component entities are not permitted to engage in insurance or reinsurance business outside of the country, whether by acquisition, establishment or joint venture.

The Venezuelan Supreme Court recently upheld the constitutionality of blocking 272 mostly opposition candidates from running for office on the basis of suspicion of corruption.

A special assembly dominated by members of President Rafael Correa's Alianza PAIS party recently approved a proposed new Ecuadorian constitution that would grant the president broad political and economic powers.

Fitch Ratings recently issued its annual report on the Argentinean insurance market entitled "El mercado asegurador argentino: Resultados y perspectivas 2009."

Even if the insured losses from the Chile earthquake fall in the mid-range of current estimates of between US$ 2 billion and US$ 8 billion, it will outpace Hurricane Wilma as the most expensive insured event in Latin America’s history, according to a release by reinsurance broker Cooper Gay.

The Salvadoran Insurance Association (ASES) is warning that a proposed tax increase on reinsurance premiums may cause a mass exodus of reinsurers, leaving the nation under-protected in the event of a natural disaster.

IRB-Brasil Re, the government-controlled former monopoly holder in Brazil's reinsurance market has maintained a 78.5% share of the market's local reinsurance premiums since the market's opening, but perhaps at a significant cost to its bottom line.

Earlier this year, a Chilean court found an insurance broker liable to an insurance beneficiary for failing to obtain the insurance coverage requested, which led to the insurer denying the beneficiary's claim for disability benefits.

Costa Rican President Dr. Oscar Arias Sanchez recently signed into law the new Ley Reguladora del Mercado de Seguros.

The Superintendencia de Bancos y Otras Instituciones Financieras (SIBOIF) (Nicaragua), Superintendencia del Sistema Financiero (SSF) (El Salvador) and Superintendencia de Bancos (Superban) (Guatemala) recently released insurance industry results for the first nine months of 2009.

In the World Economic Forum's recently-released "Financial Development Report 2009," Peru was ranked number one in the world for macroeconomic prudence.

The Argentinean authorities recently fined an individual insured 8 times premium and an insurance intermediary 15 times premium for illegally transacting life insurance business with a non-authorized foreign life insurer.

QBE Insurance Group recently stated that the company expects its gross written premiums from Latin American operations to grow by 7.14% for the year 2009.

Venezuela remains an enticing and daunting jurisdiction in 2010, as the government continues to intervene in the financial services and other major industries and the insurance industry faces the prospect of a new comprehensive insurance law.

2009 was an eventful year for the Latin American (re)insurance markets, with local factors and varying exposures to the global economic downturn leading to tremendously different results, trends and regulatory initiatives in the various countries.