The Insurance Week, organized by the Center for Insurance Development Research (CIDeS), solidified its position as one of the most important events in the insurance sector in the region. For three days, Mendoza hosted a comprehensive experience that combined strategic content, networking, and unique offerings, with over 300 attendees and a sold-out event.
The event kicked off on Wednesday the 25th with golf and padel tournaments, followed by a welcome cocktail reception. From Thursday onwards, the focus shifted to a high-impact academic program, organized around the key issues currently shaping the industry.
Politics and context
The event had a strong political presence, reflecting the growing relevance of insurance on the public agenda.
Participants Alfredo Cornejo, governor of Mendoza; Hebe Casado, Vice Governor of Mendoza and President of the Senate of the Provincial Legislature; and Diego SantilliMinister of the Interior of the Argentine Republic, who agreed on the importance of generating conditions of predictability, investment and development to boost the growth of the sector and its role in the real economy.
Global trends
From an international perspective, Sergio Schmukler, Research Manager of the World Bank's Development Research Group, provided a macro view on productive financing, highlighting the role of insurance as a key tool for economic resilience and the development of capital markets.
Meanwhile, Adrita Bhattacharya-Craventhe director of Population Health Trends at the Geneva Association, focused on the impact of population aging and the sustainability of health systems, arguing that longevity - with greater life expectancy and years of economic well-being - redefines the business of personal insurance and opens up new opportunities.
Capacity, data and new risks for reinsurance
Reinsurance played a central role on the agenda. Robert Wiest, CEO of MS Reinsurance, highlighted that the industry faces a more complex scenario, where risk management increasingly demands more data, innovation and technical discipline.
This approach was complemented by the panel comprised of Juliana Alves (Swiss Re Brasil); Lucas Castagnino (MS Reinsurance); and Rodrigo Nieto (Munich Re Bogotá), moderated by Guillermo Pastore, chairman of Division International Group.
CEOs and business transformation
From a business leadership perspective, Antonio HuertasThe president and CEO of MAPFRE, provided a strategic vision for the future of insurance. He arrived in Mendoza for the first time from Spain to elaborate on the four challenges he believes insurance faces globally: geoeconomic fragmentation, climate risks, technology and cyber risks, and longevity.
For their part, José Rivaldo Leite da Silva, consultant for Porto Seguro Brazil and CEO of Porto Seguro Uruguay, showed how the Brazilian market is breaking paradigms, especially in the automotive sector and assistance services.
Employment and labor reform: two perspectives
From the business sector, Martín RappalliniThe president of the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) raised the importance of modernizing the labor framework as a necessary condition for creating formal employment, highlighting that the new law does not guarantee the generation of jobs but is a starting point that requires working together with workers' representatives to adapt to the new reality.
From a union perspective, Jorge Sola, the general secretary of the Insurance Union and co-general secretary of the CGT, stressed the importance of protecting employment, but expressed his opposition to the reform, warning that it does not modernize the regulatory framework, that they were not invited to participate in the debate, and that job creation begins with a productive investment project.
Regulation and supervision
Regulation was a prominent topic at Insurance Week, bringing together leading figures from across the region and the United States. Participants included Guillermo Plate, president of ASSAL and Superintendent of Insurance of the Nation; Luis Enrique Bandera, vce president of ASSAL and Superintendent of Insurance and Reinsurance of Panama; Jazmín Bernal Lugo, director of ASSAL and Superintendent of Insurance of the Central Bank of Paraguay; Ricardo Lara, Insurance Commissioner of the California Department of Insurance (United States); and Ryan Workman, Ddirector of Policy and International Affairs at the NAIC.
In another matter, he also stated Fernando PérezThe general manager of the Superintendency of Occupational Risks warned about a context in which accident rates are decreasing but litigation continues to rise, where in his view the solution lies in enforcing the complementary law on Occupational Risks by implementing forensic medical bodies within the Superior Courts of Justice of the different provinces.
Innovation and business: new rules of the game
From the business world, Pierpaolo Barbieri, Ualá CEO and founder highlighted how technology is redefining business models and the relationship with users, especially in Latin America, where the protection gap is enormous, generating a very large business potential for finance in general and insurance in particular.
Along the same lines, Guillermo DietrichDietrich, CEO of BYD and former Minister of Transportation of the Nation, addressed the transformation of the automotive sector, marked by the electrification revolution and a paradigm shift in mobility based on energy conversion.
Risk Managers' Perspective
One of the most engaging panels was that of major risk managers, with the participation of leading Risk Managers: Iván Di Renta (Mercado Libre), Javier Martí (YPF), Silvana Rigoni (Arcor), and Nazarena Treveset, president of the Insurance & Risk Management Association (IRMA), moderated by Silvia Miñones, Marsh's Director of Specialties. The panel highlighted how large companies make decisions in the face of increasingly complex scenarios.
Expectativas macro y del sector
En el evento no faltaron datos duros, con los resultados de una encuesta global a ejecutivos presentada por Hernán Pérez Raffo, partner at PwC Argentina. In turn, Alejandro De Navarrete and Juan Pablo GrisolíaEY partners presented the results of a survey conducted among attendees, which reflected the relevant challenges facing the sector, with more than notable opportunities on the near horizon.
Regarding expectations, Daniel ArtanaFIEL's chief economist analyzed the impact of geopolitics, particularly tensions in the Middle East, on key variables such as oil and the macroeconomy, and its impact on Argentina.
Leadership: from football to business
One of the most emotional moments was the participation of Jorge Burruchaga, former Argentine footballer and coach, moderated by Alejandro Klappenbach, sports journalist, in a dialogue in which the 1986 world champion shared lessons on leadership and teamwork, transferring concepts from high-performance sport to the business world.
Justice and Insurance at the close
The closing of the academic day was led by Dalmiro Garay Cueli, president of the Supreme Court of Justice of Mendoza emphasized that legal certainty is an essential starting point for the economic development and the insurance system, highlighting the province's experience in judicial management, expert bodies, and alternative conciliation schemes.
New CIDeS authorities
Insurance Week once again distinguished itself with its comprehensive offering, featuring a sunset event at Bodega Huarpe Riglos and a closing dinner show at Bodega Los Toneles, providing unique networking opportunities in iconic Mendoza settings.
In this last place, on Friday, March 27, the decisions made at the CIDeS Assembly held a few hours earlier were made public to the attendees, where, among other things, the new authorities were elected.
In place of Alejandro Simón, president during the first two years of think tank, was elected as president Roy Humphreys. The executive will be accompanied by Jorge Mignone and Lorena Garrera as vice presidents, Daniel Arias as secretary, and Gerardo Pardo as treasurer.
Also, as members of the new Board of Directors, are: Irene Capuselli, Jorge Cruz Aguado, Sebastián Dabini, Eduardo Felizia, Gerónimo Fresco, Diego Guaita and Alejandro Simón, while Juan Carlos Mosquera continues as an auditor.