New Findings from Department of Economics in the Area of Iberian and Latin American Economic History Described (The Emergence of Financial Capital In the Health Insurance Business In Europe: the Case of Spain In the Last Fifty Years): Economics – Iberian and Latin American Economic History

2024 APR 04 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- A new study on Economics - Iberian and Latin American Economic History is now available. According to news originating from La Coruna, Spain, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Sickness insurance companies were developed in Spain by doctors and healthcare professionals, remaining outside the interests of general insurance companies. Their management was hardly professional, with limited actuarial techniques and they only accounted for a small percentage of total insurance business premiums.”

Funders for this research include European Union (EU), European Union (EU), Spain’s Ministry of Science and Innovation-State Research Agency, Universidade da Coruna/CISUG.

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the Department of Economics, “From the 1970s onwards, various factors changed this situation, driving processes of concentration, with numerous takeovers and mergers, first reducing the number of local and regional companies to the benefit of companies of national scope. Subsequently, the growth in demand for this type of coverage sparked the interest of national general insurance companies and multinationals, leading to a restructuring of the sector which has progressively acquired greater weight within the insurance business and become increasingly internationalised. This last stage immersed the health sector in Spain in the great processes of globalisation of the sector, characterised by a financialisation of capital promoted by the bank investment funds. These processes are little known and are the focus of analysis of this paper, with the aim of enabling comparison at international level. Las companias de seguros de enfermedad fueron desarrolladas en Espana por medicos y profesionales sanitarios, quedando fuera de los intereses de las companias de seguros generales. Al principio, su gestion era poco profesional, con tecnicas actuariales limitadas y solo representaban un pequeno porcentaje del total de las primas del negocio de seguros. A partir de los anos 1970, diversos factores cambiaron esta situacion e impulsaron procesos de concentracion, con numerosas absorciones y fusiones, reduciendo primero el numero de empresas locales y regionales en beneficio de empresas de ambito nacional. Posteriormente, el crecimiento de la demanda de este tipo de coberturas desperto el interes de companias de seguros generales nacionales y multinacionales, provocando una reestructuracion del sector que progresivamente ha ido adquiriendo mayor peso dentro del negocio asegurador y cada vez mas internacionalizado. Esta ultima etapa sumergio al sector sanitario en Espana en los grandes procesos de globalizacion del sector, caracterizados por una financiarizacion del capital impulsado por los fondos de inversion bancarios. Estos procesos son poco conocidos para el caso espanol y representan el principal foco de analisis de este articulo.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Su estudio nos permite tambien introducir el estudio de este pais en el debate internacional.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: The Emergence of Financial Capital In the Health Insurance Business In Europe: the Case of Spain In the Last Fifty Years. Revista de Historia Economica / Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History, 2024. Revista de Historia Economica / Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History can be contacted at: Cambridge Univ Press, Edinburgh Bldg, Shaftesbury Rd, CB2 8RU Cambridge, England.

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Margarita Vilar-Rodriguez, Dept. of Economics, La Coruna, Spain.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0212610924000016. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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