Countries in Latin America that your company covers: We cover several jurisdictions in the region, but in terms of volume the largest are Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Chile.

What are the most significant cases or transactions in the Latam region that you or your legal team has recently been involved in?

We have been involved in a few technically complex cases typically including wealth generated from the sale of a family business, where members of the family may be in different jurisdictions or are planning to relocate to a different country. Of late, we have seen an increase in the number of affluent clients relocating from Spanish-speaking Latin America to Spain, and from Brazil to Portugal. In Utmost Wealth Solutions we have tailor-made insurance solutions for these situations, are fully compliant with EU legislation, making them perfectly portable to other jurisdictions.

On another note, the unusual business environment created by the pandemic has been swiftly followed by the Ukraine crisis, attendant supply chain costs rising and inflation, generating a considerable impact in our business.

Are you now putting more emphasis on preparing for the unforeseen and, if so, what does this entail?

As an insurance company regulated in the EU, we must abide by the Solvency II directive rules, which means we must hold sufficient excess funds to withstand a 100-to-200-year event. Utmost Wealth Solutions holds substantially more than the regulatory minimum, and this is reflected in our credit rating which shows that we are the highest rated independent international insurer.

Given that Latin America has historically experienced certain political and economic volatility, our clients are looking above all for financial security. Being the largest provider of high net worth cross-border life insurance solutions with a strong credit rating and a significant in-house technical knowledge, our company is able to provide its clients peace of mind when looking for robust and compliant wealth solutions for them, their families and future generations.

What are your organisations plans in the Latam region over the next 12 months and how will your legal expertise help to achieve these plans?

As a result of the current economic and political environment, we are observing an increase in business from Latin American most affluent families that wish to relocate to Europe or are preparing to relocate in the future. Additionally, we have detected a growing interest in Latin American families for life insurance solutions to serve their wealth planning needs as a result of some region’s political instability, and in the potential increase in local taxation, among others.

For this reason, we have increased our dedicated resources to support the Latin American region, in addition to enhancing our product functionality in cooperation with other local country experts.