Edition 18 - Seguros MAPFRE

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SIAM News JANUARY 2003
SISTEMA MAPFRE
Primitivo de Vega joins the Sistema
MAPFRE Management Committee
On October 7 last year, the board at
MAPFRE Mutualidad (Sistema
MAPFRE’s parent company) approved a
management restructuring that came into
effect on 1st January, 2003, which translates
as greater involvement on the part of
MAPFRE Asistencia in the running of
Sistema MAPFRE as a result of the
appointment of the Executive President of
MAPFRE Asistencia, Primitivo de Vega, and
the Chairman of the Reinsurance
Division, Andrés Jiménez, to the Sistema
MAPFRE Management Committee.
Commenting on the appointment,
Primitivo de Vega, Chairman of MAPFRE
Asistencia since 1994, said:“I consider it a
great privilege to be invited to take part in
this new era at Sistema MAPFRE as a
member of the Management Committee,
making improvements to its divisions and
all the companies in which MAPFRE has a
presence.”
The Chapel at MAPFRE Study Foundation which houses
a large part of the work of the artist Venancio Blanco.
The Venancio Blanco Religious
Museum opened at Monte del Pilar
Mansion in El Plantio (Madrid) on
October 10, last year. The Museum, a joint
project by the artist and MAPFRE, houses
16 sculptures designed specially for the
Chairman
José Manuel Martínez Martínez
Deputy Chairman
Filomeno Mira Candel
Second Deputy Chairman
Florentino Braña Valdés
Committee Members
Andrés Jiménez Herradón
Primitivo de Vega Zamora
Santiago Gayarre Bermejo
Luis Hernando de Larramendi
Sebastián Homet Duprá
Domingo Sugranyes Bickel
Committee Member Secretary
Alberto Manzano Martos
chapel, which opened in
1992.
The works depict scenes
from the life of Christ: the
“Annunciation”, the “Virgin
and child”, “The Last
Supper”,“The Crucifixion”,
the “Pietà” and “Christ
descended”. There are also
four special saints: “Saint
Francis” and “Saint
Sebastian”, distinguished by
sacrifice, and “Saint John”
and “Saint Teresa”, distinguished by divine
revelation and grace; a Monstrance (a
container for the Consecrated Host); three
tributes to music: the Baroque, Handel and
Mozart; and, finally, two angels.
The exhibition displays works by Venancio
Blanco (Matilla de los Caños del Río,
Primitivo de Vega, new member of the Sistema
MAPFRE Management Comittee.
The Venancio Blanco Religious Museum
opens at MAPFRE Study Foundation
Salamanca, 1923) from 1960 to the present
day. The artist has gained great recognition
both in Spain and abroad. His works are
housed in several art galleries and private
collections; he is a member and the
Chairman of several panels and tribunals
connected with the Art world, and a
member of a number of art academies,
including the Academy of San Fernando in
Madrid.
The Venancio Blanco Religious
Museum is open to the public
on the first Saturday of the
month, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Visits can be arranged by calling
34 91 581 23 49.

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SIAM News JANUARY 2003
SISTEMA MAPFRE
Filomeno Mira Candel, the
new Chairman of AISAM
Filomeno Mira Candel.
At its meeting on 4th October in
Bordeaux, the Committee of the
International Association of Insurance
Mutual Companies (AISAM) agreed to
appoint Filomeno Mira, Deputy Chairman
of MAPFRE Mutualidad, as the
Association’s new Chairman for the
period 2002 – 2004, taking over from
Bent Knie-Andersen, from ALM BRAND
(Denmark).
In the address given by the new Chairman,
he stressed the importance and validity of
the principles of
mutualism
– solidarity,
service, ethics,
transparency,
democracy and
humanism– compared
with the
current crisis in
terms of corporate
values that
the company is
going through,
and announced
the launch of
specific projects
to “put together
new work
groups and implement
action
plans to continue
the very productiveaccomplishments
of the last
few years”.
These are new,
forward-looking
projects for “a
difficult but exciting
enterprise”
in the words of
Filomeno Mira,
who placed special
emphasis
throughout his
speech on the
need for greater
participation by AISAM members, to come
up with new ideas aimed at enabling
AISAM to progress.
Spreading mutualism and its
principles
The International Association of
Insurance Mutual Companies (AISAM)
was set up in 1963 as a means of
defending mutualism and spreading its
principles worldwide, and to act as a
liaison, information and representation
instrument before national and
international bodies (governmental or
otherwise) involved with the field of
insurance in general –and mutual
companies in particular– while
providing a platform for the exchange
of experience, information and
assistance for the companies it
represents. The Association has 181
members, six of which are national
associations and the rest mutual
insurance companies. It represents 25
countries altogether.
A lifetime devoted to MAPFRE
Filomeno Mira (Orihuela, Alicante, 1947)
has been a member of Sistema MAPFRE
since 1970 and Deputy Chairman of the
Board of Directors and the Management
Committee of MAPFRE Mutualidad de
Seguros, Sistema MAPFRE’s parent
company, since 1995.
He is the Chairman of the General
Insurance and Business Insurance
Divisions at Sistema MAPFRE and
Chairman of the Board of the MAPFRE
Study Foundation.
Before that, he was Chairman of the
technology divisions, MAPFRE RE and
MAPFRE América Vida, and Executive Vice-
President for Central and North America
of MAPFRE América.
Member of the Board of the Pontificia
University of Salamanca, the new
Chairman of AISAM won the “European
Risk Manager” (1998) award and the
“European Citizen of Honour” (1999)
award garanted by the National
Governing Board of the Association of
European Citizens. His professional
career has been devoted in particular to
furthering the importance of risk
prevention and protection as regards
insurance and security, mainly in industry.
He has undertaken a large number of
projects on the subject of Risk
Management and the Internationalisation
of Insurance, and is often invited to give
talks at conferences and seminars.

SISTEMA MAPFRE
Mariano Yzquierdo Tolsada: winner of the first
Julio Castelo International Insurance Prize
José Manuel Martínez, Filameno Miró, Pilar González de Frutos and Mariano Yzquierdo,
winner of the first Julio Castelo International Insurance Prize.
Professor Mariano Yzquierdo Tolsada
was awarded the first International
Julio Castelo Matrán Prize at the prize
ceremony held at the MAPFRE Study
Foundation on 28th October last year, for
his work “The vissitudes of the motor
insurer in criminal proceedings”. The biannual
award, an idea brought to fruition
by MAPFRE in 2001 on the occasion of
the retirement of Julio Castelo, the then
Chairman of Sistema MAPFRE, is for
unpublished works of a scientific nature
related to the field of Insurance and Risk.
Mariano Yzquierdo Tolsada, professor of
Civil Law, lecturer on the subject at
Julio Castelo is awarded the Gold
Medal for Merit in Insurance
On 27th September, Julio Castelo
was awarded the Gold Medal for
Merit in Insurance at the event held
annually at the Insurance and Pension
Plans Directorate to award medals to
leading figures in the field of insurance.
The decoration –featured in SIAM
NEWS 17 – is the maximum distinction
granted in the field of Spanish
Insurance.
A shared distinction
The award ceremony was chaired by
the Secretary of State for Economy,
Luis de Guindos, accompanied by the
Managing Director of the Insurance
Directorate, Pilar González de
Frutos, and by the Chairman of
UNESPA, Alvaro Muñoz. Julio
Castello gave thanks on behalf of all
the medal winners, and pointed out
that, in his case, he considered it as a
distinction shared by his colleagues
at MAPFRE and by the company
itself, without whom and without
which he could never have
undertaken the task that had met
with such recognition.
Comillas Pontificia University (ICADE)
and author of many works connected
with Civil Liability and Insurance, thanked
the panel of judges, the Institution
awarding the prize and the teachers and
collaborators who had helped further his
interest in the subject of Civil Liability
and, as a result, been a source of
inspiration for the prize-winning work.
The ceremony was chaired by Pilar
González de Frutos, Managing Director
of the Insurance and Pension Funds
Directorate, who praised the quality of
all the entries submitted and the
unanimous decision reached when
singling out the winning work. She was
accompanied by Filomeno Mira,
Chairman of the MAPFRE Study
Foundation, and José Manuel Martínez.
The Chairman of MAPFRE stressed the
importance of encouraging research in all
fields of the business to foster the
development of the company, and made
reference to the work of his
predecessor, Julio Castelo, pointing, as an
example, to his contribution as a driving
force behind the preparation of the
MAPFRE Code of Good Governance.
Julio Castelo, being awarded the Gold Medal for
Merit in Insurance by Pilar González de Frutos.
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SIAM News JANUARY 2003

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SIAM News JANUARY 2003
NEWS
Road America joins MAPFRE Asistencia
On January 15, the US company, Road
America, a Motor Club operating in
the United States, Canada and Puerto
Rico with a portfolio of 2.5 million
members and over 200 corporate clients,
joined MAPFRE Asistencia.
In the words of Primitivo de Vega, Executive
President of MAPFRE Asistencia, when the
agreement was signed, the acquisition of
this company, for an initial price of USD 18
million, represents for MAPFRE Asistencia
“our consolidation in the most important
market in the world, the United States,
where the company had been in business
since 1993 through its subsidiary, Federal
Assist”.
Negotiations for the purchase got
underway early last year with a process of
analysis of the Motor Club and a study of
the feasibility of the project for MAPFRE
Asistencia, and ended satisfactorily for both
parties in January this year.
With the incorporation of Road America,
MAPFRE Asistencia will have a wide
From left to right: Dennis Fantis, President and General Manager of Road America;
Albert Hutchinson, founder of Road America; Primitivo de Vega, Executive President of
MAPFRE Asistencia and Rafael Senén, Managing Director of MAPFRE Asistencia.
network of service providers in the United
States –more than 20,000 service points–,
and will market its entire range of products
there.
A toast to the success of this new project: Albert Hutchinson, founder of Road America,
and Primitivo de Vega, Executive President of MAPFRE Asistencia.
MAPFRE Asistencia has in mind new and
key projects for its traditional clients, which
include insurance companies, finance
institutions, large corporations, supply
companies and private individuals: all in all,
over 85 million beneficiaries who place
their trust in MAPFRE Asistencia through
its 36 subsidiaries.
Road America marks the
consolidation of our business
in the most important
market in the world: the
United States.
The Road America Motor Club, which is
now part of the MAPFRE Asistencia
Regional Management Division for North
America, will keep on the management
structure and management team that it had
prior to the acquisition. Dennis Fantis, the
President and General Manager of the
company, will continue to run the company
and the excellent task he has performed,
which has made Road America one of the
leading firms in its sector in the United
States.

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SIAM News JANUARY 2003
NEWS
Fortis Bank presents, exclusively
for Benelux Assist, its new Home
Assistance product
From left to right: Mr. Frank Van Den Berghe, Head of the Benelux Assist Network; Mr. Peter Vervondel,
Manager of Fortis Bank Insurance; Mr. Alan Sterkendries, General Manager of Fortis Bank Insurance;
Mrs. Marta Santamaría, General Manager of Benelux Assist and Mr. René Demerbe, National Head
of the Benelux Network.
On November 15 last year,
exclusively for 120 Benelux Assist
providers, Fortis Bank, a partner and
shareholder of our subsidiary, presented
its new assistance product which offers
insurers its entire portfolio free of charge
as from December.
The event was held at the Head Offices
of Fortis Bank Assurance in Brussels. It
started with the product presentation
which was made jointly by Mr.
Sterkendries, General Manager of Fortis
Bank, and Marta Santamaría, General
Manager of Benelux Assist. Mr. Demerbe,
National Coordinator of the Benelux
Assist Network, dealt with the most
practical part: the new steps of the
operation, assisted by two regional
managers, Mrs.Wery (Head of the French
area) and Mr. Van Den Burghe (of the
Dutch area), who gave the
demonstrations.
And the outcome? The providers were
very interested in the product, which
they say will increase their business
considerably in the short term and they
all expressed their surprise that Fortis
Bank should be promoting this
groundbreaking Home Assistance idea in
Belgium.
What does this new product
offer?
The novelty is that the Fortis Bank’s
clients will be able to ask for home
assistance three times a year, completely
free of charge, whatever the problem.
The transport expenses and the first two
hours’ work are undertaken by Benelux
Assist and covered by the insurance
contract that Fortis Bank has with
MAPFRE Asistencia.
The advantage of this product is that it
covers the legal franchise (still pending
approval in Belgium) and helps deal with
claims and small breakdowns (under
franchise) which will be carried out by
Benelux Assist from now onwards.
After signing the contract, Fortis Bank
held a national press conference and
send a communication to all its clients
telling them about this new product.
More news in the next edition of SIAM
NEWS.
Meeting.

NEWS
Caribe Bávaro, MAPFRE Asistencia’s
First Assistance Center
365 days a year, 24 hours a day, and
equipped with Emergency, General
Medicine, and Nursing services, Caribe
Bávaro is Caribe Asistencia’s new medical
center, the assistance area launched by
our affiliate in the Dominican Republic.
The new installations will offer medical
services to any of the company’s
customers who travel to or reside in the
area between Punta Cana and Bávaro,
Higuey, where two of the eastern
Dominican Republic’s main tourist
destinations are located.
Caribe Bávaro was inaugurated on
November 29, in an event attended by
local and international tour operators,
members of insurance companies, banks,
and related medical centers, and Caribe
Asistencia executives, who had the chance
to see first hand the expansion in Caribe
Asistencia’s range of medical services.
They could look over the installations that
have been prepared, designed with the
equipment required for a center like this
one, which must be prepared for any
medical eventuality that might arise. To
the same end, Caribe Asistencia has put
together a human team of experienced
medical professionals.
With this medical center, Caribe
Asistencia continues to expand its service
offering in an area – health – of increasing
concern to MAPFRE Asistencia
customers. This MAPFRE Asistencia
To contact or visit the Caribe
Bávaro clinic:
Tel.: 809 552 1415
Fax: 809 542 1744
e-mail:
cmcb@caribeasistencia.com
Also at Caribe Asistencia head-
quarters.
affiliate is taking an innovative
approach to improving its health
services network and providing
answers to the demands the
market daily makes of us.
Caribe Bávaro team.
Caribe Bávaro Medical Center façade.
Inside the installations.
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SIAM News JANUARY 2003

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SIAM News JANUARY 2003
NEWS
Ireland Assist Celebrates its
11 th Annual Conference
Ireland Assist is the number one
assistance provider in Ireland. It offers
professional service for all its customers,
adapting to the policyholders’ needs.
Ireland Assist’s “work gear”.
In this spirit, last November in the city
of Galway, where Ireland Assist has its
headquarters, the MAPFRE Asistencia
affiliate celebrated the eleventh edition
of its Annual Conference, which was
dedicated this time around to
continuing its Home and Motor
Network training.
Specialists from the United Kingdom
Vehicle Recovery Institute were in charge
of this training, rooted in the criteria of
Quality, Safety, and Excellence, which was
accomplished in two sessions: “Highway
Salvage” and “Taking Care of the
Customer”.
Demand of effective solutions
Drivers these days spend more and more
time behind the wheel, and demand
effective solutions with a minimum of
bother whenever they have a problem.
Ireland Assist works to make this happen,
maintaining and improving its network’s
quality standards. Through use of the
Quality Control Forms, filled out after
every assistance, Ireland Assist knows that
97% of its customers rates this provider
network very positively.
View of Ireland Assist’s 11 th Annual Conference.
This year, in addition to the exhibiters
who have always joined Ireland Assist for
this event, were the Irish distributors of
Peugeot and Citroën, first-time attendees
with whom MAPFRE has had an excellent
relationship since 1996-97. Noel Quirke,
General Manager of Ireland Assist,
explained that “the Conference is always a
perfect chance to strengthen our
relationships with our clients, and we
value their presence very highly.”
2002 has been the best year so far for
Ireland Assist. Its team of 60 employees
and 2,072 providers received almost
400,000 calls, and statistics indicate that
the coordination for 80% of assistance
was completed in 45 minutes. Vehicle
Assistance is their biggest business,
though in the past few years the company
has also experienced an expansion in
products and services.
A new building, a lavish opening, new
customers… This is only the starting
point for 2003, a new year that is only just
beginning.

NEWS
Caribe Asistencia Inaugurates its
New Offices
On October 10 Caribe Asistencia
inaugurated its new headquarters in
Santo Domingo. The MAPFRE Asistencia
affiliate opened its doors to a new age, with
installations of its own for which “no effort
has been spared, no resource to equip
them with the comfort and technological
requirements indispensable to supporting
the constant innovation a company like this
demands,” explained Cecilia Méndez,
General Manager of Caribe Asistencia.
This event –attended by MAPFRE
Asistencia Regional Director Sergio
Rivera, Caribe Asistencia board members,
representatives from the Spanish Embassy,
insurance, banking, and business sector
personalities, various authorities, and a
large media contingent– was presided
over by Primitivo de Vega, Executive
President of MAPFRE Asistencia.
For the market leader in the Dominican
Assistance sector, the opening of these
new offices, located on the sixth floor of
the La Cumbre Building –at the
intersection of Avenida Tiradentes and
Presidente González, in the prestigious
Naco business district– has come in
response to the need for a bigger space to
facilitate the development of new
products and increase the client portfolio
by guaranteeing quality and personalized
service.
The Executive President of MAPFRE
Asistencia explained that Caribe
Asistencia has earned the market’s trust
“with the security and strength imparted
The Caribe Asistencia offices are officially inaugurated. Shown here, Cecilia Méndez and Primitivo de Vega.
by a job well done,” and he added this
note: “since its installation, Caribe
Asistencia has provided more than
200,000 cases of assistance to people who
needed us for various reasons, both in and
outside the country.”
About Caribe
Asistencia
Caribe Asistencia was born
on May 15, 1995, joining
MAPFRE Asistencia’s will to
that of 12 Dominican
companies who provided, for
the first time in the
Dominican Republic, Travel
Insurance and Highway
Assistance services.
Five years later, Caribe
Asistencia added a new
product: Home Assistance, a
concept already developed in
Spain a few years ago that is
now being marketed in
Europe and the United States.
Their product portfolio was
completed in the latest stage
with Call Center services and Accident
Management for insurance companies, a
product that supposes a significant
advance in cost processing, control, and
savings.
Main entrance to the new offices.
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SIAM News JANUARY 2003
NEWS
A Group of MAPFRE Asistencia
Employees, in a Show of Support
for the Argentine People
Agroup of MAPFRE Asistencia
employees, out of a desire to help
the people of Argentina improve the
difficult situation they are living, prepared
a charity concert that took place on
December 17 in Madrid and managed to
raise a total of 3,400 e.
This initiative, which emerged in MAPFRE
Asistencia headquarters and found
immediate backing with the members of
our Argentine affiliate, targeted the
children of the community dining hall in
the Santa Brígida neighborhood, located
on the outer fringes of the city of Buenos
Aires, which attends to a total of 70
children during the week and 150 children
on weekends.
They will be the direct beneficiaries of all
the funds raised by the concert, given in
the San Jorge Parish, which was warmly
received by all the MAPFRE Asistencia
crew. They enjoyed typical Christmas
pieces, classic carols like “Silent Night” and
“We wish you a Merry Christmas”, as well
as sacred choruses and popular works,
Italy, affiliate number 36 of
MAPFRE Asistencia
The “Amicitia” choir performing a piece in the charity concert.
magnificently interpreted by the “Amicitia”
choir, which includes some members of
our family.
The European Regional continues to
grow, this time with the opening, in
the first quarter of 2003, of the new SIAM
office in Italy, which will have Natalia
Jorquera as Manager and Lavinia Mocca as
Operations Director.
In its initial phase, Italy will provide
assistance to SIAM member companies,
with the intention of later developing local
business in all the company’s areas of
activity.
Natalia Jorquera, General Manager of the company’s
new subsidiarie in Italy.

NEWS
Afrique Assistance
Celebrates
In a festive atmosphere for the
insurance sector and other market
companies, Afrique Assistance attended
the biggest celebration of 2002, the 40th
anniversary of Mutualle Assurance de
l'Enseignement (MAE), a company that
strives unceasingly to introduce and
integrate Travel Assistance products, for
both vehicles and people, from within the
Tunisian company.
Afrique Assistance took advantage of this
celebration to organize a gala dinner on
September 27 in honor of MAE and its
team, bringing together more than 300
guests. The initiative was applauded by all
the attendees, and also allowed
collaborators of MAPFRE Asistencia to
renew their commitment to our Tunisian
affiliate.
Tools for success
During this event, with entertainment by
popular music group El Hadra, Afrique
Assitance’s sales team reiterated its
support for all its collaborators, offering
them all the tools they need to make their
job a success. Afrique Assistance also
awarded prizes to the best agents in the
area of Travel Assistance (Automobile and
Personal), and thanked all the guests for
their efforts and work.
On another note, Afrique Assitance has
developed a new campaign (shown below)
to renew the image of Home, Travel, and
Personal Assistance, which has been
distributed to all its points of sale and to
the SIAM affiliates.
Regional
Cono Sur:
3 rd Work
Meeting
Brasil Assistência headquarters.
Once again, MAPFRE Asistencia’s
Regional Cono Sur Managers
gathered to celebrate their 3rd Work
Meeting, which on this occasion took
place July 15-18 in São Paulo.
The managers who participated in this
event were: Paulo Peret, of Brasil
Assistência; Salvador Viada, of Panamá
Asistencia; Pablo Alvert, of Argentina;
Marcelo Lescornez, of Chile; Daniel
Klein, of Uruguay; and Sergio Lara, of
Paraguay.
In the course of the meeting, the strengths
and weaknesses of each of the companies
were analyzed and experiences were
exchanged. The encounter also gave a
chance to explain to all the participants
each country’s situation, as well as plans
for the assigned objectives.
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SIAM News JANUARY 2003
NEWS
MAPFRE Asistencia,
on Top of the World
An unforgettable image.
It is no exaggeration to say that
MAPFRE Asistencia is on top of the
world, now that our company has
participated in the scaling of the K2, “the
mountain of mountains”. At 8,611 meters
(28,251 feet) high – second only to
Everest, the world’s
highest peak at 8,848 m
(29,035 ft) – K2 is
located on the western
end of the Himalayan
range and has been
crowned on countless
occasions.
The project of ascending
K2 was carried out by
Spanish mountaineers
Luis Fraga Egusquiaguirre
and Miguel Ángel
Vidal, who were
sponsored by MAPFRE,
MAPFRE Asistencia (which insured
repatriation in case of an accident) and
other companies.
Scheduled to take place during the
months of July and August, as summer is
the best time of year to make the climb,
Luis Fraga Egusquiaguirre.
and following one of the most
complicated routes (the south-southeast
face), Fraga and Vidal’s team reached 7,100
meters, the highest point achieved in 2002
on K2 by this route, whose south wall
rises 3,000 meters over the Godwin
Austen glacier.
Neither the immense hanging glaciers, nor
the ice, nor the dangerous ridges heaped
over another could make the team turn
back. But they could not win against the
forces of nature, and the terrible weather
they experienced, with constant
avalanches, forced the climbers to
abandon their adventure. We hope they
can reattempt it very soon, with the
support of MAPFRE Asistencia.
The low temperatures and bad weather, with constant
avalanches, forced an end to the expedition.

NEWS
More Prizes
for Brasil
Assistência
Paulo Peret receiving the award for "Seguro Total".
For the second consecutive time, the
Brazilian magazine “Seguro Total” has
honored MAPFRE Asistencia’s Brazil
affiliate for “Excellence in 24-hour
Assistance Service”, an award that
recognizes the Brasil Assistência team’s
daily efforts. We here at SIAM News
congratulate them.
“Seguro Total” is one of the main
Assistance sector publications in Brazil.
This prize, which was inaugurated last
year, is awarded to the principal
insurance companies and to all those
who provide services in connection
with this market.
Iberoasistencia Paraguay
Sponsors the “King of
Spain Golf Cup”
Newspapers wrote about "Copa Golf Rey España" where Iberoasistencia took part.
Last October 12 and 13, the
exclusive Paraguayan Yacht and Golf
Club hosted the “His Majesty King of
Spain Golf Cup”, a charity championship
in which our affiliate Iberoassistencia
participated as a sponsor, along with
several of the leading companies in the
country such as MAPFRE, Banco BBVA,
and Iberia.
This event, which was presented a few
days earlier at the Spanish Ambassador’s
residence in Paraguay, was contested to
36 holes by groups of two players,
following the American Four Ball
system, which counts each team’s best
score per hole. The winners were Luis
Arce and Gerardo Niella, with 67 holes
in the first round, and 60 in the second.
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SIAM News JANUARY 2003
ADVERTISING
Full-page ad from the International Tourism Fair ITIC 2000, where MAPFRE Asistencia made a presentation.

THE EXPERIENCE CORNER
NEW SECTION FOR OPINION ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED BY RETIRED MEMBERS OF SISTEMA MAPFRE.
Value-Added Insurance Services
By José Antonio Naves
Quality of service is absolutely
essential to any commercial activity,
and if possible even more so in the
insurance sector, where providing good or
bad service is limited in practical terms to
managing the accidents guaranteed by the
insurance contract.
The customer-policyholder only assesses
the quality of service provided when the
consequences of the accident affect his or
her person or insured belongings, because
if the damage is to a third party, however
much the indemnity costs, and however
efficient the management of the accident
and the celerity of indemnity payment, the
policyholder is inhibited from valuing the
quality of service provided, even if his or
her behavior is exclusively responsible.
This is why, with the exception of some
insurance coverage that has a higher
accident rate or affects the policyholder’s
person or belongings, the quality of
service can only be put to the test when
there is an accident. This means that in
determined kinds of insurance or
coverage, insurance companies have
incorporated other service provisions,
generally with no direct economic
indemnity, into economic provisions
arising from guaranteed risks, as value
added to the basic guaranteed coverage.
The most meaningful examples of this are
Travel Assistance in Automobile Insurance
and Home Assistance in Combined Home
Insurance.
For Home Fire and Combined Damage
Insurance and other simple risks, in the
event of an accident the insurance
companies offer the option of direct
payment of the indemnity amount or
having the insurance company handle the
repair and/or replacement of the damaged
property through its providers, making
the repair/replacement easier on the
customer, who doesn’t have to worry
about contracting the right professionals
or following up on the job. Travel
Assistance for Automobile Insurance and
Home Assistance for Combined Home,
Business, and Office Insurance have been a
starting point for incorporating other
services and complementary provisions
into insurance policies, such as counseling
in defense against traffic tickets, family
legal assistance, systems for renting or
leasing vehicles, provisions in case the
vehicle is paralyzed, damage claims, etc.,
with the premise of offering customers
the best-quality service.
Sistema MAPFRE, initially MAPFRE
Mutualidad, created MAPFRE Asistencia
in June of 1986, and was the first Spanish
insurer to incorporate its own Travel
Assistance company. Later, MAPFRE
Seguros Generales implemented the
Integrated Accident Center to directly
manage accidents and Home Assistance
nationwide, by means of telephone
centers with permanent service and
direct and immediate connection to
professionals and providers. MAPFRE’s
decision to implement those services
and provisions and manage them directly
was a very important one. Especially
with the conviction that they must be
provided with the highest quality, with
the most advanced infrastructure and
personnel with a high level of
professionalism and training, permanent
services, etc.
Moreover, since many of these services
are provided through independently
contracted professionals, an extensive and
meticulous staff of technicians, auditors,
and professionals of all crafts is needed to
ensure that level of quality. Providers who
are submitted to permanent surveys,
inspections, and polls evaluating the
services they provide, and whose loyalty is
won by our compliance with the
contracts, immediate payment for work
done, conventions, meetings, and other
actions intended to integrate them into
the business culture and approach.
MAPFRE can demand this degree of
quality because of the volume of services
it requires, which allow its providers and
professionals to obtain high economic
rewards for their collaboration.
MAPFRE’s experience has taught us that
quality of service provided should not
constrain itself only to correct contract
compliance for the coverage contracted,
but rather must extend to other valueadded
provisions and services. It also
teaches us that their implementation has
been an excellent investment in prestige
and in our corporate and business
image.
In conclusion, I recall that when the
MAPFRE Asistencia installations were
inaugurated June 1, 1986 on Claudio
Coello Street in Madrid, the then
President and Chairman commented that,
from that day on, the lights at those offices
would never be turned off, that service
would be available 24 hours a day, 365
days a year. Now, in 2002, with the
company providing service in 52
countries, we can add, as Phillip II
proclaimed, that the sun never sets on
MAPFRE Asistencia.
José Antonio Naves Muñiz, who
joined MAPFRE in 1959, was
Assistant Chairman of MAPFRE
Mutualidad from 1978 to 1995.
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SIAM News JANUARY 2003

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SIAM News JANUARY 2003
PRODUCTS
Legal Defense, on the Citizen’s Side
MAPFRE Asistencia will now market this product outside of Spain
These days, damages claims have
become the central issue of any legal
conflict, and 90% of legal processes have a
single objective: to achieve compensation
for the damages inflicted.
But we also know that when we suffer
damages it is not enough to be right – it is
also necessary to conclusively prove it,
within the time allotted and respecting
the established legal procedures. And
once this much is accomplished, the
parties guilty of causing the damages
cannot be expected to simply agree to pay
the indemnity asked of them. Legal action
is often compulsory.
The problem is that most of the time the
passivity of the affected party prevents a
sufficient indemnity from ever being
obtained: evidence is not gathered when
necessary out of apathy, ignorance,
absence of a competent lawyer, and above
all from lack of energy and persistence.
The citizen cannot resolve legal conflicts
alone in any case, once they reach a
determined point. He or she has to turn
to procurers, attorneys, auditors, juries,
etc. Although these costs are not known
a priori, we all know they can get out of
hand.
Most of the time the
passivity of the affected
party prevents a sufficient
indemnity from ever being
obtained. Apathy and lack
of evidence or means are
the most common causes.
Some think the State should set up
procedures by which those citizens
whose resources are below a certain
limit can obtain free legal services; but
there is a significant proportion of the
population that, while over the limit set
for this benefit, is not in a privileged
economic situation, and is forced to
somehow forego other necessities like
food, clothing, education, or leisure in
order to fulfill their need for legal

Legal Defense for Vehicle
Drivers, for Home, Family,
for Traffic Infractions, for
Credit Card Holders, and
Extralegal Advice.
protection. The obligation of choosing
one or the other may occasionally make
Legal Defense offers a wide range of
products designed with specific
guarantees to satisfy the particular needs
of any one of our customers.
examples:
Some
• Legal Defense for Traffic
Infractions, also including a 24-hour
Legal Assistance service.
• Family Legal Defense to resolve the
various conflicts that may arise in
private life, such as personal or material
damage claims, pedestrian damage
claims, passengers on public transport,
and claims to other insurance
this person decide to renounce his or
her rights.
A Complete Offer
Legal defense gets results and fulfills the
needs that citizens already have in the
legal area, as the widest-ranging every day
situations that can generate a problem are
included in this new product.
With this new area, MAPFRE Asistencia
customers have access to the ideal means
companies for non-compliance with a
contract.
• Legal Defense for Vehicle Drivers:
by means of this product we guarantee
Criminal Defense for traffic accidents,
failure to assist, driving without a
license, and claims for material and/or
physical damages due to a traffic
accident.
• Legal Defense for the Home:
protects the policyholder’s rights in
relation to the home, claims for noncompliance
of home-related service
contracts, contracts for the supply of
of safeguarding their rights, with a
significant reduction in the resulting
economic consequences.
This new array of arguments can be
extended to Financial Entities, Insurance
Companies, Banks, Credit or Debit Card
Issuers, Affinities, Professional
Associations, Consumer Associations, and
a long list of other potential clients,
because Legal Defense is an adaptable
product that may be included in the
catalog these companies market.
water, electricity, or telephone
services...
• Defense for Service Contracts and
24-Hour Legal Help for automobilerelated
emergencies (vehicle theft, blood
alcohol test…).
• Legal Defense for Credit Card
Holders, a product created specifically
to offer to banks and affinities, with
guarantees like Telephone Legal Advice.
• Extralegal Advice, necessary for
resolving any doubts the policyholder
might have when faced with any legal
situation.
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SIAM News JANUARY 2003

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SIAM News JANUARY 2003
PRODUCTS
New Area of Pecuniary Losses
MAPFRE Asistencia has received the
authorization of Area 16, Diverse
Pecuniary Losses. This continues our
company’s diversification, augmenting the
range of products and services we offer
our customers worldwide. This Area
includes employment risks, insufficient
deposits (in general), and loss of benefits
or subsidy due to temporary driver’s
license suspension, among others.
Trip Cancellation Insurance
It is worth noting that from now on we
can offer Trip Cancellation insurance
independently and not as an accessory
risk to assistance. This insurance
reimburses the amount paid by the
policyholder when he or she cancels a
trip due to, among other causes, the
death or hospitalization of the
policyholder or a close relative before
the trip.
Application to the Financial
Sector
The Diverse Pecuniary Losses Area has a
very direct application to the financial
sector and will allow us to offer valueadded
products to sectors like the credit
card sector that are in great need of
them. The widespread offer of credit
cards forces the financial entities to offer
new aggregate-value products in order to
differentiate themselves from the
competition.
With the Pecuniary Losses Area we have
the capacity to respond to this need with
insurance like Purchase Protection,
which indemnifies in case of theft or
robbery and accidental property damage
by means of a credit card.
Another product that complements the
preceding one is the Guarantee
Extension. This insurance extends the
manufacturer’s original guarantee for any
product bought with the credit card, up
to a maximum of 24 months after the
purchase date.
One of the big advantages of these two
products is that they provide incentives for
credit card use, since they only cover goods
purchased with the credit card. As such,
they are a very attractive alternative to the
insurance that is traditionally included with
a card. Such is the case of accident
insurance, which is currently experiencing a
considerable premium increase.
One fundamental aspect of the credit
card marketing strategy is security.
Fraudulent Use insurance permits the
financial entities to offer their customers
additional protection. This insurance
indemnifies the policyholder for losses
suffered due to fraudulent use of the card
up to 24 hours before he or she
communicates its loss or theft. It also
offers complementary coverage, such as
communication costs, advance of funds,
and replacement of documents.
From now on, we will be able to offer
these products to new or existing clients
in the financial sector for their credit and
debit cards.

Other potential clients for these
products are shops and department
stores, as value added for the loyalty
cards they offer their customers. Lastly,
we can also offer them to all the
companies that have co-branding cards,
such as airlines, who offer credit cards
with their brand.
The implementation of these services is
simple and adapted to the software we
already have available. The operating
procedures respond more to traditional
reimbursement insurance than to what
we are accustomed to in assistance. The
big advantage of this is that it enables us
to manage the service during the
telephone center’s off-peak hours.
ADVERTISING
Panamá Asistencia campaign on 50th Street, one of Panama City’s main drags.
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SIAM News JANUARY 2003

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SIAM News JANUARY 2003
MARKETING
“How to Sell…” Updated
The monograph series “How to Sell…”
that has given MAPFRE Asistencia such
excellent results, has updated its design and
content in response to our market’s current
demands, while maintaining its original
spirit: helping SIAM managers and sales
agents in their daily job of introducing
MAPFRE Asistencia’s products and services
in each of their markets.
With this interior and exterior remodel,
“How to Sell…”, which includes the titles
“Evaluating Physical Damage”, Mediphone
24, and “Legal Defence”, adds two new
books: “Consulting” and “Home
Assistance”, which includes Emergency 24h,
Professional Connection, Legal Defense,
Diverse Accident Management, and
Construction Finishing services.
All of these are structured under headings:
Introduction, Product, Supporting
Arguments, Potential Customers, Marketing
and Price, giving the new “How to Sell…”
series a more modern and attractive look –
with new photos – that allows more rapid
access to the information required and
easier reading.
The content has also been updated, seeking
to respond to all the new questions that
might arise in reference to the new
products, questions that will doubtless
come up anytime one of these services is
presented and can now be resolved by the
MAPFRE Asistencia team without any
problem.
Furthermore, this change means the
integration, in a single book, of the two
languages in which “How to Sell…” is
published: English and Spanish. This will
allow its use to extend and expand, and with
it the possible customers who can be
introduced to the company’s products and
services. This is a new road full of
possibilities to offer a constantly changing
market eager for an answer to each and
every problem it encounters.
We hope this change is a positive one for
everybody, and that “How to Sell…”
continues to be an effective work tool in
MAPFRE Asistencia.

MARKETING
Brasil Assistência Launches “Easy
Assistência”, a Product Targeted
to the Final Consumer
asy Assistência” is the name
“Eof the new product Brasil
Asistência is employing for the first
time in the domestic market to
capture a new customer: the final
consumer. This project, launched on
November 9, offers Vehicle
Assistance and Home Assistance.
With Home Assistance, MAPFRE
Asistencia’s affiliate in Brazil offers
its new customers the possibility of
access to electricians, glaziers,
locksmiths, plumbers, security and
surveillance agents and the
“Professional Connection” for
home-related services under the
slogan “Know it has never been
easier to guarantee your peace and
security against unpleasant
surprises in your home”.
It maintains this message for Vehicle
Assistance as well, this time seeking
to solve the most common
problems any driver might
encounter in a vehicle by offering
towing, emergency repair,
transport, hotel, National Register
of Stolen Vehicles, locksmiths, tire
changes, and fuel delivery.
For this campaign they have created
a specific image with two new
logos, Assist Lar and Assist Auto,
which also include graphic materials
such as flyers and posters. All of
this is intended to identify this
novel idea, publicized through
motor and real estate programs on
television and in three Firestone
sales areas.
“Easy Assistência” sales will take
place both through Brasil
Assistência’s Call Center call
receiver and through applications
sent in by Brazilians and collected in
Firestone stores.
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JANUARY 2003
Samples of Brasil Assistência’s new “Easy Assistência” campaign. SIAM News

ADVERTISING
Sample of the latest campaigns developed by El Salvador Asistencia.
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SIAM News JANUARY 2003

VII LITERARY CONTEST
“You will never find it…”
Nikos Pastra.
Imagine yourself in this situation: your
car has broken down in the middle of
nowhere and you don’t know exactly
where you are. How could you describe
your position to the road assistance’s provider?
This is what has actually happened to
one of our clients: during one of my
afternnon shifts, the phone rings, I
answer the line, and I hear a man’s voice
asking for help. His car had broken down
somewhere on the National Road. He
didn’t know the exact km, he just knew
he was on one of the two largest
ADVERTISING
National Roads of Greece, near Athens,
and so I connected him with one of our
providers.
They started talking and I stayed on the
line, as usual, hearing their discussion.
After some time, the provider hadn’t been
able to figure out exactly where the client
was.And suddenly, the provider asked the
magic question: “Can you tell us
something characteristic that you see
around?”
And the client answered:“Well, let’s take
a look….oh, yes, there’s a big
advertisement sign right above me, which
says: DON’T SEARCH! YOU WILL
NEVER FIND IT!”.
Guess what happened next: At the same
time, the client, the provider and me burst
into laughter!!!
Fortunately for the client, the provider
found him after all.
Oops, I forgot to mention the story’s
moral. Here it is:
Prizewinner Ranking for
the 7 th Edition of the
Story Contest
First Prize: ESSAS LÁGRIMAS (Eloína
Gorgonha Fernandes, Brazil).
Second Prize: YOU WILL NEVER FIND IT
(Nikos Pastra, Greece).
Third Prize: RELATO DE TOM GOEMARE
(Tom Goemare, Belgium).
Third Prize: HOMAGE TO A SPECIAL
FRIEND (Sotiria Voutsina, Greece).
Whenever your car breaks down, make
sure that you are nearby an advertisement
sign.Who knows, maybe this will help one
way or another!!!
Sample of the new personalized cards (front and back) that Eurosos Assistance has developed for its new Home Assistance campaign.
Nikos Pastra
Eurosos Assistance
Second Prize
7 th Edition of SIAM Stories
The Prizewinners of the 8 th SIAM Story Contest will be published in the next edition of SIAM News.
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SIAM News JANUARY 2003

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SIAM News JANUARY 2003
PRESS CUTTINGS
Selection of MAPFRE Asistencia’s latest media appearances.

PRESS CUTTINGS
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SIAM News JANUARY 2003

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SIAM News JANUARY 2003
PRESS CUTTINGS
Articles published in the Dominican press following the inauguration of
Caribe Asistencia’s new offices.

ADVERTISING
Uruguay Asistencia poster.
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SIAM News JANUARY 2003