Several senior public officials attended the opening session of FIDES Rio 2023, the largest insurance conference in the Americas and the Iberian Peninsula, which began on Monday, September 25 in Rio de Janeiro. The president-elect of Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court, Luís Roberto Barroso, stressed that the insurance industry plays an important role in proposing appropriate solutions to pressing issues such as anti-poverty efforts and sustainable economic and social development.
The president of the Brazilian Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, was also present at the opening session. He said that proposals to boost the country’s insurance sector have the “full attention and commitment” of the legislature. In his speech, Pacheco reiterated his view of the insurance market. “It is a sector of strategic importance for the country’s development. It hasn’t stopped in time, it has updated itself and diversified, and today it accounts for more than 6% of GDP and directly employs 250,000 people in Brazil, the largest market in Latin America,” he said.
Environment and climate
The senator pointed out that the insurance sector also plays an important role with regard to the country’s sustainability agenda. According to him, Congress has been dealing with environmental and climate change issues as a high priority, leading to several bills and regulatory changes aligned with Brazil’s vocation to lead the green economy. “Of course, the insurance sector must be included in this context, as it will be necessary to make new investments and ventures in the country viable. And when investments are made, there are significant social and economic transformations,” the president of the Senate said.
The head of the Brazilian Private Insurance Regulatory Agency (SUSEP), Alessandro Octaviani, said that his organization will set up a working group to deal with “Insurance and ecological transformation.” According to him, the insurance sector has a lot to contribute to the development of the Brazilian economy and to an ecological transformation that generates technologies and capabilities to tackle ecological risks.
The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, described the insurance industry as one of the main economic activities that strengthen a country’s institutions. “I think Brazil is increasingly proving to be a safe haven for those who make commitments, believe and invest. Obviously, we want to be an example to the world, especially to our dear Latin American brothers and sisters,” he said.
The state governor of Rio de Janeiro, Cláudio Castro, also greeted the almost 2,000 participants in the Western Hemisphere Insurance Conference. He said he was delighted to be present at an insurance event in Rio and stressed that this industry is very important to the state’s economy.