Brazil - Insurance

Brazil has a low rate of insurance compared to developed countries. 2.3% of its GDP in 2001 was insurance compared to an average of 7% in most developed countries. The last half of the 1990s, however, saw a significant amount of growth, especially in life, health, and retirement insurance. The operations of insurance companies in Brazil are supervised by the Superintendency of Private Insurance (SUSEP0), the National Private Insurance Council (CNSP), and the Institute of Reinsurance of Brazil (IRB), a company which is 50% owned by the government and 50% by the insurance companies operating in Brazil. The IRB was privatized in the second half of 2000. As a result of Brazil's sweeping privatization of industry, more corporations are expected to purchase insurance and consequently increase the size of the market.

With the lifting of restrictions on foreign insurance companies operating in Brazil, several companies made major investments in the market during 1997 and 1998. The US is the top investor, with 40% of the market. Nearly half of the insurance policies are sold in the city of São Paulo.

The Brazilian insurance market is characterized by two large groups of insurance companies. The top five groups occupied approximately 50% of the insurance market, including Sul America, Bradesco, Itau Porto Seguro, and American International Group (AIG-Unibanco). The balance of the market is shared among approximately 80 additional groups.