Carlos Vélez

GENERAL MANAGER, NACIONAL DE SEGUROS

How did Nacional de Seguros mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the product lines that were most affected?

Nacional de Seguros’ leasing insurance branch was pronouncedly affected by the pandemic. The area of commercial leasing faced an uptick in claims due to COVID-19. The virus impacted all players in their contracts: tenants and leaseholders. Nacional de Seguros approached both sides to reach agreement and define payment. This approach was productive; only 2% of claims were declared as a total loss. The silver lining is that the product gained market recognition. We have been able to demonstrate the value of leasing insurance and expect strong interest in the coming years.

Nacional de Seguros has a strong focus on infrastructure. How has this sector been impacted by the pandemic?

Several things happened in that area. On one hand, the construction industry never came to a total halt. Some projects were temporarily suspended, but activities quickly resumed. On the other hand. the government understood that construction plays an important role in terms of investment spending and its role in rejuvenating the economy and decided to reactivate the construction sector to ensure an economic recovery. That has benefited us significantly, and that has helped make 2020 a landmark year for Nacional de Seguros.

How do you evaluate the role that the sector regulator has played this year? Do you feel that the regulation is supporting the sector?

The Colombian Financial Superintendency has been engaged in providing assistance and support for insurers. The actions that SFC took in 2019 to update the regulatory framework are producing positive results, have resulted in a strengthened insurance sector that has been better prepared to manage the impact of the pandemic. That strength allows Colombia to have an insurance sector that is solid and with capacity to respond to upcoming challenges. This year, the regulator has been active in monitoring compliance, which allows companies to be in a good shape to cope with the upcoming challenges.

Nacional de Seguros’ growth projections are very steep. How are you preparing to cater to a larger demand?

We are carefully reviewing the processes within the company in order to attend to a larger flux of business. We want to become more agile and light without changing our core business. As I mentioned before, we are on the brink of producing interesting campaigns and extending innovative solutions to our clients.

What expectations do you have for 2021?

Trends of increased access to financial services, boosted by digitalization, are contributing to the growth of the insurance industry. There are also benefits to do with the wider regulatory framework. Insurance products can support contractors in the big-scale infrastructure projects that will commence next year. 2021 is full of opportunities and the pandemic modernized our operations to better serve clients.