We already warned a year ago: 2024 was going to be a historic year for IBERIAN Insurance Group. For many reasons, moreover. The year we now bid farewell has been a period of growth and consolidation for IBERIAN Insurance Group, marked by significant milestones that reinforce its leadership position in the underwriting agency sector in Spain. Below, we highlight the main news that have defined this year for our MGA:
We start the year strong by sharing the special interview that Grupo Aseguranza conducted in issue 299 of its magazine with the cover protagonist, Dario Spata, CEO of IBERIAN and president of the association of underwriting agencies ASASE.
You have been CEO and founder of Iberian since 2014. Has the change in the market been very profound in these years?
I would tell you that the essentials have not changed, but to a large extent we are in another scenario. In the case of Iberian, and I have already told you many times, our origins were very simple, to the point that there was no portfolio, investor or big company behind us. It was just me against the world. Soon after, I was able to count on a great team that today are partners and key pieces in the company. I am sure that if I wanted to do the same thing today, even if I tried to follow the same path, I would not be able to do it.
Now, on the one hand, there is more investment, but also more difficulties concomitant to these same investments. For example, I am advising some underwriting agencies that are trying to get started, some that have tried and have not been able to get started, and others that have succeeded. No two are the same, but they all face large upfront costs that will weigh down results for years, and they have to turn to outside funding or investors.
Also in January, our Caución underwriter Fernando Molano participated as one of the experts consulted by Pymeseguros in its special report on the branch published in January 2024 under the title “Internationalization and green energies drive Caución | PymeSeguros”.
On green energies and new business opportunities, Fernando Molano agrees that foreign investment has been very good for the economic boost it has given, with companies that have settled in Europe quite strongly. “To this has been added that, from 2021, the regulation tried to eliminate the ‘speculation’ that we were having and that, today, the renewable sector has become much more professionalized and the growth of many companies, especially in the specialist sector, which have seen that it is much more profitable than continuing with the traditional civil works construction sector,” he says.
International presence at Miami (re)Insurance Week
During Insurance Week, held in February, IBERIAN participated once again in the 2024 Miami (re)Insurance Week, strengthening its strategy of prospecting and branding in the international market. Of particular note were the meetings with WTW, Hamilton, AON, AIG and Odyssey Re, where the latest market trends were addressed and new business opportunities were explored.
Active participation in Forinvest 2024
In March, IBERIAN was invited to participate in the Forinvest 2024 International Insurance Forum in Valencia, contributing to the debate on the role of underwriting agencies in the insurance market. Dario Spata presented the company’s success story to the attendees, highlighting IBERIAN’s niche market focus, specializing in areas where experience and technical knowledge are key, such as Surety, Professional and General Liability, and Decennial Insurance. He also highlighted the strong relationships with top-tier reinsurers, as IBERIAN works with renowned companies such as AXA XL, Lloyd’s, Zurich and Great American.
#FightingTogeher: IBERIAN’s new brand image
In May, our agency announced the sponsorship of young amateur boxer and kickboxer Zamara Barrios “La India”, reflecting our commitment to corporate social responsibility and support for sport. Barrios thus becomes IBERIAN’s new brand image.
“Our meeting with Zamara came almost by chance. We saw in her many of the values that represent IBERIAN: youth, courage and daring, but also professionalism, perseverance, dedication and hard work to succeed despite adversity. We do not hesitate for a second to “fight” together until we take it to the top of this sport that we appreciate and respect so much. Her potential is amazing, we identify very much with her”, explained Dario Spata, CEO of IBERIAN Insurance Group.
Recognition of Cristian Mateos as a reference and young leader in the industry
From left to right: Dario Spata, Cristian Mateos and Fernando Molano.
“Receiving this recognition from the industry is an honor, but not only from a personal and professional point of view, but also because it recognizes IBERIAN’s commitment to a young and talented team that I am proud to lead, after almost a decade, together with Darío Spata. I would also like to congratulate the other award-winning professionals who are the future, but also the present, of our sector,” said Mateos.
For his part, Spata participated in the first episode of the podcast of the Association of Spanish Subscription Agencies (ASASE), which he chairs, exploring the world of subscription agencies and their impact on the sector.
“The acquisition of a company of reference and solvency in the sector such as Crouco is a decisive step in our expansion strategy and in strengthening IBERIAN in the MGA market in Spain. In addition, its specialization in Civil Liability, which it shares with IBERIAN, places our group in a leading position in this line of business in the national market. We share with Crouco fundamental corporate values such as proximity, transparency and loyalty to our markets, so this operation has been carried out in an extraordinarily natural way. From IBERIAN we will put all our technological resources and know-how at the disposal of Crouco’s team of great professionals and its network of brokers to continue offering the best insurance products on the market,” said Dario Spata, CEO of IBERIAN.
“On this very special day, ten years after embarking on this project with a laptop and a cell phone, I only have words of thanks to all the people who have made IBERIAN possible: my partner, Cristian Mateos; our entire team at IBERIAN; the Alea Cover and Crouco teams, our insurance companies and, especially, our network of collaborators. Never in the best of my dreams in 2014 would I have imagined achieving what we have achieved in this decade but, above all, to be surrounded by all these great professionals and better people, friends, who trust in IBERIAN and who accompany us on our big day. In the next 10 years, what I really hope is that we do not lose our essence and that we continue to have fun working as we have done so far,” said Dario Spata, CEO of IBERIAN.
Cristian Mateos, Senior Underwriter & Partner, said: “In these 10 years, and despite all the challenges, we have positioned IBERIAN as a leader in the Spanish MGA market: we have built a team of more than 30 professionals with unmatched talent; we have acquired our own building; we are forming a group of underwriting agencies that are leaders in their segments, which has allowed us to exceed 5000 clients and that figure of 20 million euros in premiums that we had set as a goal at the beginning of the project. But if we are leaders today, it is undoubtedly thanks to all the professionals with whom we work and who share our particular business vision with IBERIAN. To all of them: thank you.
Honestly, the bar for 2025 is going to be very high after this intense, productive and extraordinary 2024, but we do know one thing: we will never stop being ourselves. We will never stop being IBERIAN.
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You have been CEO and founder of Iberian since 2014. Has the change in the market been very profound in these years?
In March, IBERIAN was invited to participate in the Forinvest 2024 International Insurance Forum in Valencia, contributing to the debate on the role of underwriting agencies in the insurance market. Dario Spata presented the company’s success story to the attendees, highlighting IBERIAN’s niche market focus, specializing in areas where experience and technical knowledge are key, such as Surety, Professional and General Liability, and Decennial Insurance. He also highlighted the strong relationships with top-tier reinsurers, as IBERIAN works with renowned companies such as AXA XL, Lloyd’s, Zurich and Great American.
“On this very special day, ten years after embarking on this project with a laptop and a cell phone, I only have words of thanks to all the people who have made IBERIAN possible: my partner, Cristian Mateos; our entire team at IBERIAN; the Alea Cover and Crouco teams, our insurance companies and, especially, our network of collaborators. Never in the best of my dreams in 2014 would I have imagined achieving what we have achieved in this decade but, above all, to be surrounded by all these great professionals and better people, friends, who trust in IBERIAN and who accompany us on our big day. In the next 10 years, what I really hope is that we do not lose our essence and that we continue to have fun working as we have done so far,” said Dario Spata, CEO of IBERIAN.
