Opening an office in Uruguay “illustrates RL360’s commitment to its Latin American business and confidence in the level of sales growth in the region” the Isle of Man-based life insurer announced on Tuesday.
Leon Sears, who has headed up Latin American sales since RL360 expanded into the region in 2014, said: “Opening up in Montevideo really illustrates how importantly we view the Latin American market.”
Two admin staff based in the new office will support the work of the three-strong sales team working across Latin America.
Ease of communication
Queries from local advisers will be answered in their own time zone, Sears added. “And in their own language”, as the RL360 staff speak Spanish, Portuguese and English.
“Our regional sales manager Nicolas Tiscornia, who is responsible for sales in the southern cone of the continent, will also be based in the new office.”
Tiscornia joined RL360 earlier this year from Old Mutual Group’s former regional distributor Aiva.
Latin America push
The Encyclopedia Britannica describes Latin America as “generally understood to consist of the entire continent of South America in addition to Mexico, Central America and the islands of the Caribbean whose inhabitants speak a romance language”.
Despite the vague definition, the region has been a draw for life companies for many years. Some more successfully than others.
One life insurer making a big push recently is Hansard, which is opening up a Bahamas operation to focus on the region.
Zurich’s recent half-year results highlighted its performance in Latin America following two acquisitions, but this followed a tough Q1 for the Swiss insurer.
Lombard International entered into a joint venture in Mexico with local wealth management firm Akaan in May 2017.
In September 2018, the joint venture, named Akaan Lombard International, announced it was adding 8,000 Mexican clients through the acquisition of a local life insurer.
In sharp contrast, Old Mutual announced in March that is was selling all of its businesses in Latin America to a Singapore-based firm.
The sale did not impact the relationship between Old Mutual International and Aiva, an investment adviser and distribution platform for financial advisers in the region.
