Medical language is often incomprehensible to people outside the profession. Dr Ana Villanueva, Chief Medical Officer for Life, Health and Accident at MAPFRE RE, dissects the history of disease classification and its relentless quest for term standardisation, while also exploring how IT processing can help public institutions and private insurers to optimise health management costs and procedures.

If there is a clear forerunner of the FUNDACIÓN MAPFRE´s «Insurance for Everyone» project, that must be the «Financial Education Programme», a scheme introduced in 2008 following recommendations by the OECD, the Spanish National Securities Market Commission and the Bank of Spain. Amid the prevailing need for financial instruction, César Quevedo and Ana Belén Herrero, of FUNDACIÓN MAPFRE´s Insurance and Social Protection department, have created www.segurosparatodos.org to deliver targeted insurance training to all population segments, from schoolchildren to adults. Most importantly, the site also provides materials for trainers.

Solvency II requires all insurance companies to include Compliance among the functions within their organisation. Unawareness of applicable regulations may lead to monetary penalties, with the ensuing damage to corporate reputation. trébol interviews Juan Pablo, Chief Compliance Officer at MAPFRE, who goes over all the necessary steps for implementation. Top management involvement and a Board approved policy are the key milestones of the Compliance function.

Brokers have moved beyond their intermediary role in insurance and reinsurance and become centres for risk assessment and management advice. Jason Howard, CEO of Faber Global, designs the Willis Group’s strategy from his office in London, but his career has also enabled him to witness the development of Latin markets. He sees potential for growth in Latin America and Asia, where Willis will be offering its broad range of specialist services to cater for an increasingly sophisticated demand.