The Chilean subsidiary of French credit insurer Coface is aiming to grow premiums by 20% this year on the back of strong demand for export credit insurance, said Chile Louis des Cars, CEO of Coface.
Coface reported premiums of 3.1bn pesos (US$5.3m) last year, according to des Cars, placing the insurer in second place in overall credit insurance in Chile with 27% of the market.
Coface's 2004 earnings totalled 1.1bn pesos compared to only 144m pesos the previous year. Profits in 2003 were affected by a voluntary provision taken that year, des Cars explained.
“Our growth last year was due to impressive premium gains of 34%, well above the market average of 16%,” Des Cars said. Coface's export credit insurance grew 38% in terms of premiums, while its domestic insurance premiums rose 29%. The CEO expects the Chilean market to grow 14-20% in terms of premiums this year.
