A dozen Spanish insurance companies are controlled by families or the management has passed from father to son. The most paradigmatic case of these family insurance groups is that of Catalana Oeste, a publicly traded firm.
Most family insurers have chosen to separate ownership and management. “Large international groups are suffering from this tough competition and reducing market share in the last decade, due to the strength of 100% Spanish insurers,” says the president of one of the 10 largest companies in the country.