EMB opens new office in Spain

EMB, the international actuarial and business consultancy, has continued its global expansion with the opening of an office in Madrid to service the Spanish and Portuguese markets.

This will be headed up by Oscar Huerta, who previously held a number of leadership positions within international insurance companies. These included Chief Actuary for Spain non-life businesses, dealing particularly with European and Latin American support. He also led the launch of a new direct company in Eastern Europe.

Huerta believes that Spanish and Portuguese insurers are having to adapt their strategies and business models to sharply reduced margins after years of continuous growth and difficult current market conditions. “The Iberia region offers huge potential for insurance firms. Nevertheless, technical excellence and innovation are increasingly important to market success and gaining competitive advantage,” he commented.

The new office will provide both business consulting and software solutions and will specialise in personal lines pricing, including price optimisation, and reserving. The range of services will also include assistance to prepare for, and implement, the requirements of the Solvency II Directive and assessment of financial entities in the management of bancassurance.

Duncan Anderson, a UK Partner and a Director of EMB Spain, commented: “Oscar is a great addition to our growing global team and we’re pleased to have him on board to lead EMB Spain.  He is a highly respected figure in Spanish insurance circles and has years of highly relevant practical and technical experience.”

As part of its international strategy, EMB opened an office in The Netherlands last year. Elsewhere in Europe, it also has offices in France, Germany and Norway while further afield, it has a number of offices in the US and businesses in India, Japan, Brazil and Australia. Most of these operations have been established in the last five years.