Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to Mapfre's results presentation for the first half 2021. This is Felipe Navarro, head of Investor Relations, Capital Markets, and Treasury. As usual, Fernando Mata, our CFO, will walk us through the main figures and highlights of the quarter. We also have the pleasure of having here with us José Manuel Inchausti, CEO of Iberia, who will give us an overview on the main highlights and outlook for the Spanish business. As a reminder, additional information can be found on our website, including the MD&A, as well as the usual spreadsheets. As requested by many of you, we have included further quarterly standalone figures in our financial supplement. At the end of the presentation, we will open the Q&A session. You can submit your questions using the Ask a Question link on the bottom of your screen.
We will try to answer all the questions as time allows. The IR team will be available to answer any pending questions after the call. Before we start the presentation, I would like to give you an update regarding the pandemic situation for our markets. On the positive side, European markets, including Spain, continue to improve thanks to the constant increase in vaccination rates. The new variants have had a strong impact, especially in the U.K. and the Iberian Peninsula. Although, the increase in cases has not led to the increase in the death rates. In Latin America, the situation is still quite complicated, although most countries seem to have passed the peak. However, there is still a high level of stress in the hospital systems in some countries, including Colombia and Guatemala.
We are also carefully monitoring the pandemic and sociopolitical situation in Peru, and taking adequate mitigating measures. As vaccination rates accelerate, we continue to implement gradual return to the office, always keeping in mind the highest health standards. Currently, around 94% of the employees in Spain are working on the premises, with rotations, and 54% of employees in the U.S. are back in the office. In Brazil, the pandemic situation is still complicated and 99% of the workforce are currently working remotely. We will continue adapting to the changes in conditions in every country. Let me turn the call over to our CFO, Fernando. The floor is yours.
Thank you, Felipe, and thank you everyone for being here with us today. Before I go into the details, let me start by saying that we are very satisfied with our second quarter results. We show that we are on track to meet the guidance announced at our AGM, underpinned by improving trends and successful restructuring measures. We have successfully adapted our operations to the new market context with COVID. Regarding P&L impacts, direct claims at insurance units, mainly in the life protection and health in Latin America, should be offset by lower auto frequency across regions, although there may be some volatility from one quarter to another. The pandemic situation in Latin America remains challenging, especially impacting Mapfre in our largest operations, like in Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic, with April being the peak.
On the other hand, the outlook seems more positive for markets more advanced in the vaccination process. Top-line performance is strong and premiums have reached a turning point, returning to growth in the second quarter, which is outstanding considering the impact of the pandemic and the drag from currency movements. While vaccination rates are advancing quickly in mature countries, there is some lag in emerging countries, leading to an asymmetrical economic recovery. In any case, we should see further consolidation of recovery trends, and we should expect more premium growth in the second half of the year. In Iberia, we continue to outperform the market in key non-life segments with a return to growth in Life while maintaining strong underlying technical margins. Reinsurance and Global Risks are also consolidating positive trends on the back of tariff increases, with limited impact from large events.
In the U.S., underlying results are strong, especially in the Northeast, thanks to the streamlining process over the last few years. Brazil is also well-positioned to bear the fruits of the restructuring process. Finally, I would like to highlight our strong capital position with the Solvency II ratio over 200% at the end of March, and our equity base has been stable in 2021 at around EUR 8.5 billion. Furthermore, Standard & Poor's recently affirmed our financial strength rating at A+. I will take you through the main figures of the first half of the year. Before we discuss the top line, I should mention that we renewed the large multi-year Pemex policy in Mexico for $563 million, equivalent to EUR 469 million. Currency movements were still a drag compared to last year, although to a lesser extent than in the first quarter.
In EUR, premiums are up over 6%. At constant exchange rates, premiums are up over 11%, 7% excluding in this large policy. Non-life premiums continue to consolidate the strong trends, and life premiums are up nearly 10%, with good performance in local currency in Spain and Brazil. The group combined ratio of 95% is in line with our guidance, with a similar result as insurance units. There was a provision for early retirement in Iberia booked in the second quarter. Excluding this, the combined ratio would have been around 94%, and the expense ratio will have improved proportionally. José Manuel will comment on this in more detail later in the presentation. Mapfre's net result is EUR 364 million, up over 34% and in line with our guidance for 2021. The ROE excluding goodwill write-downs is close to 9%.
Assets under management are up over 1%, with the investment portfolio slightly down, compensated by strong growth in pension and mutual funds, nearly 9% in total. On this slide, I will take you through the breakdown of the adjusted attributable results. As many of you have requested, we have included quarterly standalone figures as well. As a reminder, in line with previous quarters, due to the offsetting nature of the different COVID impacts at insurance operations, we have not considered this in the adjusted result as the final effect should be roughly neutral, although there could be some volatility from one quarter to the next. Regarding other net CAT claims, has been a quiet quarter with nothing relevant to report. As a reminder, last year there was a EUR 61 million net impact from the earthquake in Puerto Rico.
Regarding COVID claims at Mapfre Re, there was a EUR 14 million impact, mainly related to claims occurring in 2021. There have been two large impacts in Iberia during the quarter. There was EUR 56 million negative impact from an early retirement provision and a EUR 22 million gain from the release of an earnout provision. Financial gains and losses are relatively stable on the year. Finally, other impacts include a net gain of EUR 25.2 million due to the market valuation of a building transfer to a new joint investment vehicle with Swiss Life. There were also realized gains from several asset sales, including Rastreator, Preminen, and Industrial Re for a little under EUR 17 million. In 2020, other items included a provision for restructuring.
Excluding these impacts, the adjusted net result was EUR 352 million, down around 9.8%, mainly as a result of lower financial income and absence of EUR 11 million profit contribution from Bankia in the second quarter. The adjusted result is up over EUR 19 million compared to the first quarter due to seasonality. On this slide, we show the main trends this quarter. The drivers are continuous improvements in technical management, as well as still lower mobility levels affecting mainly motor. I would like to highlight the positive performance in Iberia, which José Manuel Inchausti will discuss in more detail later. In Brazil, currency headwinds are still relevant, with average real exchange rates down 14%, but much less than in the first quarter. Premiums are up over 15% in local currency, with strong growth in agro and improving motor insurance.
The attributable result of EUR 36 million is down mainly due to COVID-related life protection claims and currency movements. The combined ratio remains strong at 86%, down nearly 3 points, with improvements in general P&C. The economic outlook has slightly improved with Selic rates up and the currency improving, with high volatility. Premiums in LATAM South grew 4% in EUR, offsetting currency effects. Premiums in LATAM North are up over 50%, in that case driven by the large multi-year policy in Mexico, as well as strong trends in most segments. Excluding this policy, premiums in the region will have been slightly down to currency depreciation. Local currency growth was also remarkable in Colombia, up 33%, and Peru up over 14%. Combined ratio in both regions remained at good levels, with a slight deterioration in LATAM North, but still under 94% due to COVID-related claims.
Performance in North America has been affected by currency depreciation, with average dollar exchange rates down around 7%. The combined ratio has improved year on year at 97%, mainly due to the earthquake in Puerto Rico last year. The region shows remarkable stability with recurring profits after restructuring, with the combined ratio in the U.S. Northeast at 96.5%. In the U.S., new business is still being hurt by a lack of economic activity, but both the economy and mobility are starting to recover, and this trend should accelerate in the second half of the year. In Eurasia, premiums are down due to the non-renewal of the dealership channel in Italy, as well as the depreciation of the Turkish lira. All countries have contributed positively to results, except Italy, where expenses, as we mentioned as of March, still need to be adapted to the new business model.
Mapfre premiums are also up, supported by positive pricing trends. The combined ratio was below 95%, with excellent performance both in reinsurance and global risks. It was a quiet quarter for large losses. In the assistance business , results are up over EUR 11 million, as last year was strongly affected by travel cancellation claims. Volumes are down 27%. We continue with our streamlining process. Regarding results, we're close to the break-even point. It's remarkable, finally, that we have reported a small profit in the second quarter. On this slide, I would like to comment on the life business at insurance units. In Iberia, premium performance has been outstanding, thanks to successful sales campaigns and rollover of product maturities. I will leave the numbers for José Manuel's presentation. In Brazil, premiums have been affected by currency depreciation.
There has been a return to local currency growth, up 4% in the Bancassurance channel, with improved trends in the second quarter and sales campaigns. In other markets, premiums are up in Malta, offsetting a small decline in Mexico. The life attributable result is down by EUR 22 million, mainly due to a strong impact from COVID-related claims in LATAM, where the life protection attributable result is down by EUR 50 million. Average cases and number of death figures are beginning to come down, and we seem to have passed the peak, particularly in April, was the hardest month. It was mitigated by improving results in Iberia that José Manuel will comment on now. José Manuel, the floor is yours.
Thank you very much, Fernando, and good morning to everyone. I start saying that premiums are up 6.9% year on year, thanks to a strong performance, both in life and non-life. I would like to highlight the growth in health at 10%, and in commercial lines where premiums are up nearly 9%. Motor is growing 2.7%. It is worth mentioning the strong performance in both Verti and Santander businesses. Life premiums are up nearly 13%, with strong trends in retail lines, both in life protection and 6%, and in savings, up 34%. The net result is EUR 206 million, down 7% on the year, explained by an increase in claims experienced in motor, health and homeowners due to a pickup in economic activity. It also reflects a provision for a voluntarily early retirement scheme for EUR 75 million, which was compensated with other positive one-offs with an overall neutral impact.
The combined ratio is 96.3%, 2.4 point higher than June 2020, reflecting the impact of the voluntary early retirement scheme. The ratio will be three points lower excluding this. An increase in motor claims due to higher vehicle use during the quarter. The ratio in general property casualty has improved 6 points with lower average claim cost in the Boreal segment compared to 2020. This was partially offset by homeowners and condominiums, where claims continue at high levels due to an increase in frequency from people spending more time at home as a result of the COVID crisis, affecting water, glass, and handyman covers. The data for the Spanish market as of June 2021 was recently published and is proof of Mapfre's outstanding performance. Mapfre is growing 2 percentage points above the total market, outperforming in most key business lines.
Life and health are worth highlighting, which are growing 6 points more than the market is. Also, business lines are growing 5 points more than the market. Mapfre places clients at the center of our strategy, designing products, covering new needs with excellent service quality and digital capabilities, giving clients the power to act whenever and wherever they want. A differential value proposition has been designed for our main clients based on these pillars in order to foster long-term loyalty. These strategies have helped build the best insurance loyalty program in Spain with more than 3 million members. Mapfre is also designing tools to improve retention from the moment the policy is sold and increasing year after year the Net Promoter Score from our clients, which is now the best in the market, higher than 38.
Iberia now has more than 7.1 million clients who are even more loyal with records low churn rates. Mapfre recognizes the importance of families, so we have become the reference insurer for Spanish households, with more than 400,000 families allowing us to offer personalized products and value propositions. Our strategy is focused on growing the number of policies, and Mapfre is now giving health insurance coverage to more than 1 million people and with over 6.1 million vehicles insured. One of our main targets is to continue fostering and accelerating our digital transformation in Spain. To reach this goal, we have created the Client Digital Experience Area and the Digital Transformation Office to foster digitalization and leverage synergies within the group. The most relevant KPIs for the digital business reflect the success of this strategy.
Online transaction ratio has improved continuously over the last two years, 5 and 9 points for Mapfre and Verti respectively. New policies captured through digital channels have grown 21% as of June. Verti continues outperforming the market, with policies up over 11%, reaching a total of 338,000 policies. Lastly, after lockdown, there was higher demand for health services offered by Savia, which are complementary to our insurance products. Going to the next slide. Our priorities for 2021 are gaining market share across key lines of business, defending our portfolio and cost containment. Trends are slowing both on non-life and life. Frequency trends will depend on mobility and economic recovery. We are already very close to normalized level. New vehicle sales will remain at low levels due to the economic situation and a lack of government subsidies.
With an improving outlook and as long as rates remain low, the life savings environment will continue to be challenging. The non-life combined ratio is expected to be around 95%, with motor between 91%-93% for 2021. We will continue managing the low interest rate environment and continue to implement our alternative investment plan. Lastly, Iberia continues to boast extremely strong solvency levels while providing a recurring high level of dividends to the group. Mapfre Iberia has carried out a careful analysis to adapt our operating model to changes in our clients, channel, and the market context. This new model is the result of advances in digitalization and automation across the company, as well as the need to centralize several operations. Taking advantage of new technology, this will allow us to work with more efficient structures and centralized management that can be accessed from everywhere in Spain.
These developments have also helped streamline processes and require new strategic employee profiles. The end of the agreement with Bankia has also accelerated this process. In order to implement these necessary changes, we have set aside a EUR 75 million provision for the voluntary early retirement for employees from different business areas in 2021. Mapfre is not only focused on digital transformation, but we are also carrying out an important operational transformation plan geared to increasing operating efficiency with more than 12 million transactions optimized with a total cost saving for more than EUR 7 million this year to date. The main pillars of this plan are digitalization, process automation using technologies like robotics and artificial intelligence, and the change in the operating model that I already mentioned. Improving technical management is also a priority for Mapfre Iberia.
The main initiatives include market pricing, which is focused on adapting the final price to each customer. This is currently being used in auto, homeowners, and multi-risk, and advances are being made in other segments. Progress is being made in the use of artificial intelligence with digital verification for our clients and distributors. In the case of motor, this allows for automatic underwriting and loss adjustment and allowing for a policy to be taken out even with a smartphone. During the pandemic, this helped streamline the loss adjustment process for homeowners and condominium claims. Another important challenge has been the use of data for decision making and the possibility of creating new products and services using advanced analytics. The main action has been optimization of sales activity and process automation.
In Iberia, we are also expanding our product offering, adapting it to our clients' changing needs, with a focus on electric and personal mobility service vehicles, as well as the development of on/off motor products. In life savings, we are focused on unit-linked products and successfully boosting the asset management business. On the next slide, I would like to comment on the current status of our main bancassurance agreements. The company is making positive advances in the Bankia exits process. The independent appraiser was appointed at the beginning of July. We expect the transaction to be completed by year-end, but the final timeline will depend on the pertinent regulatory and administrative approvals. We have also implemented our portfolio retention plans in our Mapfre network. Regarding our agreement with Santander, it has been a great success with high growth potential while leveraging several opportunities for further collaboration.
For example, Portugal, cyber insurance, and open banking. Mapfre continues to meet important milestones, reaching over 100,000 policies as of June, and over EUR 24 million in premiums in Spain. In conclusion, in Iberia, we continue outperforming the market with strong underlying technical margins. Our leading position, a strong competitive advantage, and linear business model will help us come out even stronger as the economy gradually normalizes, and we will continue to leverage opportunities for growth and improve profitability. Thank you for your time, and I will now hand the call back over to Fernando.
Thank you, José Manuel. A pretty comprehensive presentation and quite clear explanation. Thank you again. Now, I will move on to the balance sheet and capital. These slides includes a full disclosure of the breakdown and variation of the investment portfolio and total assets under management. Spanish sovereign debt continues to be our largest exposure with a little over EUR 12 billion. Italian debt with EUR 2.7 billion is the second largest. Both sovereigns are mainly allocated to immunized portfolios. The fall in investment portfolio is due to higher yields with the Spanish sovereign up over 35 basis points year-to-date. Pension and mutual funds have had strong performance, both due to market movements as well as positive net contributions of EUR 70 million in pension funds and EUR 212 million in investment funds at the end of June.
On the top left are the details of our euro area actively managed fixed income portfolios. The market value of these portfolios is a little under EUR 13 billion. The accounting yield is around 1.6% in non-life and 3.5% in life. The fall in yields is consistent with the reduction in duration. As a reminder, non-life includes a burial expense business, which is a long-tail business. Excluding this portfolio, non-life duration will be pretty down, closer to four years. On the bottom left, you can see the details of the fixed income portfolios in other markets with portfolio yields significantly up in Brazil, now at 6.5%, and relative stability in North America. Realized gains and losses in these portfolios were around EUR 14 million, down EUR 14.5 million compared to the previous year.
At the end of June, and this is very relevant, very important, there were EUR 161 million of unrealized gains in equity and investment funds in our actively managed portfolio in Iberia and Mapfre. It's a big cushion for Mapfre for the second half of the year. Right now, we prefer to accumulate unrealized gains in order to compensate the fall in value of fixed income portfolios. Shareholders' equity stood at EUR 8.5 billion, up EUR 217 million on the quarter. The main driver for this increase was the net profit for the quarter, with stability in conversion differences and unrealized capital gains in the available for sale portfolio. The most relevant changes during the year are a decrease in net unrealized gains on the available for sale portfolio with a EUR 281 million negative impact due to rising rates, with only a EUR 10 million deterioration on the quarter.
Conversion differences had a positive net impact of EUR 120 million during the period, improving around EUR 40 million in the quarter, mainly due to the appreciation of the US dollar and the Brazilian real. The breakdown of currency differences and currency movements are shown in the table on the right, along with the current sensitivity analysis. On the chart on the left, you can see the breakdown of the capital structure which amounted to EUR 13 billion, of which over three quarters is equity. Leverage is stable on the quarter, slightly under 24%. After closing the transaction with Bankia, we could reevaluate our financial needs, but for the time being, we are quite comfortable with the current debt levels. On the right, you can see the Solvency II figure for March 2021, which were released last month.
The ratio sits at over 200% at the midpoint of our range. The improvement during the year is due to a lower mathematical provision due to higher risk-free rates in Turkey and Latin America, especially in Colombia and Panama. Before moving on to the Q&A session, I would like to make a few closing remarks. First of all, as José Manuel Inchausti has already explained quite in depth, in Iberia, we continue extremely well-positioned for profitable growth. Underwriting results are robust in the United States, especially in the Northeast, and we are also beginning to see the fruits of a successful restructuring process.
In Latin America, the pandemic and economic outlook remains, I will say, challenging. We have adapted our business model to the new environment. We are monitoring the situation closely. Mapfre Re continues to consolidate normalized profitability trends, thanks to tariff increases, prudent underwriting, and the absence of significant cat loss so far. For Bankia, as José Manuel already mentioned, right now we focus on completing the exit process. Regarding capital allocation, we are moving ahead with restructuring and transformation with significant advances during this quarter. We sold Rastreator and premium price comparison business, as well as Industrial Re. At Mapfre Asistencia, we have exited 13 countries since 2016 and have recently classified several insurance and assistance operations in Europe and Asia as held for sale. This includes the InsureandGo operations in Australia and the U.K., which are both in final stages.
We will continue to simplify the assistance business to improve profitability with a focus on countries where Mapfre has insurance business. Regarding business expansion, we have a preliminary agreement to buy the minority stakes in Peru Life, which will be a 32% stake. This is an excellent growth opportunity with an operation that has proven successful for more than 30 years, contributing to premium growth, profit, and dividends. In conclusion, it has been another positive quarter, showing growth in premiums and results in a more positive scenario, but not without COVID-related uncertainties. We are on the right path to meet our 2021 commitments and return to a sustainable dividend path. Thank you, and I will now hand the call over to Felipe to begin the Q&A session.
Thank you very much, Fernando. Thank you very much, José Manuel. We have a number of questions coming now from the different analysts. The first ones are related with the COVID situation. Francisco Riquel from Alantra asks for the net impact of, and the net attributable profit for the COVID losses in the life protection business for both Q1 and Q2. Fernando?
Thank you, Paco. Interesting question. I don't have the proper disclosure of both effects. I will tell you in terms of the gross value of the claims, approximately one-third during the first quarter and two-thirds in the second quarter. The total in Latin America was like EUR 50 million for both quarters. Unfortunately, we can't disclose. Bear in mind that a significant impact is being allocated to Banco do Brasil, and they haven't published their results yet. We should be very prudent in this respect. Let's say that the one-third was the first quarter and second third was for the second quarter, roughly talking.
Okay. Thank you very much, Fernando. Next question is related with the losses that we recognized in the second quarter 2021 related with the COVID. This is coming from Ivan Bokhmat from Barclays and Francisco Ojeda from Banco Sabadell is asking a similar question. Is that given the scale of the pandemic, how do you see that playing on the second half 2021?
Well, I will discuss on the first half of the year because what is going to happen in the second half of the year is still unknown. Let's say that out of this two-thirds impact in the second quarter, as I already commented, the peak was April, the month of April, with gross value for incurred losses of close to EUR 65 million. Let's say that the curve is flattening and with a lower impact in claims in May and also a descending amount coming down in June. I would like to extrapolate this flattening of the curve. We know that there is a lot of uncertainties regarding the COVID in LATAM, but the outlook remains challenging. As I mentioned, we are quite positive, and let's say that we had to be optimistic.
The pace of vaccination is moving ahead, particularly in the largest countries, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, and Colombia. Also, our operation is very well adapted to this tough context and even working from home, we are able to provide and to deliver the best quality for our clients and also just to try to mitigate the potential impact in our accounts.
Thank you. Thank you very much, Fernando. We have now some questions related with this early retirement scheme. This coming from Andrew Sinclair from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He's asking: for the Iberia early retirement scheme you have completed, what will the longer term impact on the expense ratio? Should we expect a reduction? A similar question is coming from Francisco Riquel from Alantra. Can you give us an indication of the expense of the expected payback in the years of EUR 75 million reconstruction program in Spain?
Well, José Manuel will take this question. Yeah.
Yes, of course. Of course, Paco. It will be dependent on the profile that we are speaking at. We could calculate between three and five years, the returning.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. There were similar questions related with this question coming from Alexander Evans that was very similar. There's another extension of the question coming from Ivan Bokhmat from Barclays. He wants to know what is the rationale on the voluntary retirement scheme in the non-life? What impact should we have in the ongoing combined ratio next year?
Okay. I have talked a little about the rationale. On one side, we are streamline our processes. I think that technology allows a different distribution of the workload, which cannot be the same than years ago. Last, I think centralized operations give us more flexibility and more efficiency as a company. The impact on the expense ratio nowadays are 3 points. In the future, we expect, of course, a minor expense ratio, but we are calculating it in the next strategic planning.
That's very important, and we will already mention, for Iberia business, this expense is impacting dramatically our combined ratio. As José Manuel said, the net impact in the combined ratio is a 3 percentage points increase. If you adjust the current combined ratio, eliminating this impact from the redundancy scheme, it will be a little bit higher than 93%. It's outstanding combined ratio in the current circumstances for Iberia.
Okay, thank you. Thank you very much, José Manuel, Fernando. There's more questions related with this scheme. Next one related with how many people are involved in this scheme. That is coming from Mario Ropero from Bestinver. Francisco Ojeda from Banco Sabadell would like to know which is the timeframe of this operation.
Thank you. It will be more or less 250 people, everybody, these people will leave the company up until the end of the year.
Yeah. That's very important. The final number, we will know in the future, because the pace of the employees that they're becoming eligible is growing. It has been very well accepted. We're quite generous for our employees. With the numbers what we're seeing currently in July, probably we will hit this number of 250 employees that José Manuel has mentioned. We're happy. Let me tell you that it's not a redundancy scheme, but for the last five years has been early retirement plans, not that size. This is very important, is what is relevant, that is affecting a big group of employees. Mapfre, as other large entities, we are trying to give, and also to reduce our payroll, particularly for those employee that has devoted more of his professional time, lifetime, to Mapfre. Let's say it's nothing new. This size, let's say that it is very important. In this transparency commitment that Mapfre has, we decided, yes, to make it then public. That's basically my view.
Thank you. Thank you very much. We go back to the COVID. Now Francisco Riquel from Alantra is asking about the impact of the losses in Mapfre in the second quarter, and what is left for the second half. I think that the question was almost answered. He's interested as well with what could be the potential losses for the extraordinary floods in Germany and Belgium in July as Mapfre and Mapfre Germany. Ashik Musaddi from JP Morgan, he's asking a similar question of the outlook of reinsurance business given the recent floods in Europe.
Well, as I mentioned, Paco, thank you, Ashik , for the question. It's extremely difficult to extrapolate any conclusion from the second half of the year. Let's say that the curve is flattening and also flattening as well for Mapfre Re, because there is some accepted business from LATAM that is in the Mapfre Re accounts. Let's say that most of the impact was in April, the amount net of taxes, EUR 16 million that was affected Mapfre Re was basically due to 2021 occurrence year. Let's say that it will report an amount last year, approximately EUR 60 million. This half of the years, EUR 16 as a net impact in the result. Let's say that the second half should be a smaller amount for sure. It's difficult to foresee.
Regarding Germany losses, you're right, it was the extraordinary floods in Germany and in Belgium. Just last week we saw on TV as well, again, flood in Belgium. We are in a very early stage. We have not received any written and oral communication from the senior entities. From a top-down analysis from Mapfre, let's say that it would be probably a midsize Nat Cat event for Europe.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much, Fernando. Coming back to Spain, Alexander Evans asking about motor. Please could you talk about the Spanish motor market as vehicle growth, premium growth looks strong, but you are now missing your 91%-93% combined ratio target with a 93.1% in first half and 97.8% in Q2. How do you think about the provision between the different MAPFRE España business lines? Mario Ropero from Bestinver would like an update on how you see the motor insurance price competition for the rest of the year. Francisco Ojeda from Banco Sabadell as well is asking about the combined ratio, this 93% underlining in Iberia, and what can we expect on the second half 2021.
Okay. Regarding the first question, our combined ratio of the first half of the year is influenced by 3 points as well as the general combined ratio. The underlying combined ratio is 3 points less. It is very difficult to estimate a combined ratio for the second half of the year. The first half of the year will be fulfilled if we eliminate the early retirement program. For the second, what we have seen is a very big increase on competition between companies in the market. Companies are decreasing prices, reducing prices, and are investing more in marketing. It is not easy to estimate how far will go this process, but we could see that at the end of the year.
Yeah, if I may add something. We're pretty happy with the current or the underlying combined ratio for automobile in Spain. It's like a 93%. If we apply proportionally this 3 percentage point reduction, it will be in the lower 90. This is a fantastic combined ratio. The same for the non-life combined ratio of Iberia, it will be in the lower 93. They're very good and in the proper line in order to meet the guidance for both Mapfre Group and also for Mapfre España. Regarding the allocation of the 75, José Manuel, you got the numbers?
Yeah. It's EUR 65 million in Mapfre España and EUR 10 million goes to Mapfre Vida.
The question from Mario Ropero, the motor insurance price. Mario, it is as usual. There is nothing new in this country. Extremely competitive. Perhaps José Manuel can give us more color, nothing has changed in Spain. Everybody wants to get the largest piece of the cake and the piece of the pie, Mapfre, we're defending our position. With the help of Mapfre Santander, which is very good in new business, we are extremely competitive, too.
Yes, especially in the direct business, in the digital business. We have seen an increase in competition because we have a special sensitivity when we are competing with other companies in comparison webs. It is very difficult to be one of the top three best prices for our digital company, which is Verti. Nevertheless, I would like to say that Verti is increasing its premiums by 7%, so much more than the market and other digital companies.
Thank you very much, José Manuel. We have a question related with the proceeds of the Bankia sale. Andrew Sinclair is asking, what options would you consider? Ashik Musaddi from JP Morgan as well is asking, is there an update on the cash flows from Bankia? Fernando?
Thank you, Andrew. We haven't changed our statement regarding future allocation of the consideration to be collected from CaixaBank. We will decide on this particular transaction when we finish and we get the money from CaixaBank. Meanwhile, we're analyzing different opportunities, but so far we haven't reached any conclusion. We try to allocate more capital to our strategic distribution channels, particularly Bancassurance in Spain, where there is a lack of power. I already mentioned, there has been two relevant transactions that we lost because of the regulatory financial institution in Spain and also on the digital business. Regarding our geographical footprint, again, Spain is key and also the United States. In that case, as we mentioned, perhaps Those states that we operate in close to the AAA, the Motor Club, and also Brazil.
We mentioned in a couple of meetings as well that Mexico could join the list of strategic countries as well. So far, we haven't reached, as I mentioned, any conclusion regarding the future allocation of the consideration from Bankia.
Thank you very much, Fernando. There's Mario Ropero from Bestinver. He's on the same subject. How fast do you plan to substitute your joint venture with Bankia, if you plan to do so?
Yeah, I know, Mario, that there are a lot of people gossiping, particularly in Spain, with entities. I'm not going to name any potential future development for Mapfre. They're on the papers. The decision will be made once we finish what we are involved, which is the exit of the current discussion with the CaixaBank. That's it.
Okay. Thank you.
I would like to add that part of the Bankia loss will be covered with other distribution channels. We have implemented, especially, a homeowners increase program in our different channels. I also want to highlight that the cooperation with Banco Santander is increasing. We have some products in our pipeline. We will be launching an important business line product by the end of the year, and we have another product to be launched in 2022.
Yeah, that's very good. We usually discuss on M&A growth, we forget the organic growth, which is very important, particularly on the digital side. As José Manuel mentioned, we put in some of the money, having the Bankia money in the future on the digital business and particularly homeowners. Homeowners will be the line of business the most hurt because of the Bankia exit, it was key for homeowners' new business.
That's right.
Thank you very much. Excellent answer. Mario Ropero from Bestinver, he's interested in the solvency ratio. We increased the solvency ratio in the first quarter, and he's asking about our expectations by the end of the year.
Well, let's say that we're quite, Mario, thank you. We're quite comfortable with the current position, and it's just at midpoint of the range. We probably will see further improvements if there is, let's say, an upwards movement of the free risk curve, particularly in some Latin American countries. The higher the movement is, the lower mathematical provision we have to book. Basically, it's an external factor affecting our Solvency II ratio. It's fine. We should keep this 200% Solvency II ratio as a reference. Means that we will have some additional capital in order to grow organic and inorganic our business. That's a good situation.
Okay. Paco Riquel from Alantra has similar question related with the unwinding of Bankia JV that has reduced the solvency impact from six percentage points to four percentage points. I think that you already explained why. There was another one related with capital requirements that are lower in proportion of the rest of the group, and how it's going to be impacting this.
Yeah. Paco, as you can see, the Bankia weight on our SCR is lower because there is a reduction on both premiums and also assets compared to other units and regions. They're growing significantly. In the end, it will be a lower impact from the exit of Bankia. That's basically our understanding on this question.
Okay. Alexander Evans from Credit Suisse is asking what internal dividends has the group received year to date. I can tell you, Alexander, that we have received what was already projected, and that these dividends are being booked on our accounts as they were distributed. We are quite happy with the dividend streaming that we have received up to now. We don't see any kind of risks for the rest of the month and for the rest of the year. Should be continuing going in the same direction. There's another question coming from Ivan Bokhmat from Barclays. Can you help us to understand the underlying profitability of the Spanish life business after excluding the contribution of Bankia Mapfre Vida? What is the run rate, and how does it compare with your expectations?
Well, I'll give you just the number, and then José Manuel probably can give us more color. I guess the amount is EUR 11 million, as I disclosed. Let's say it's the profit that was booked in, let's say, 2020, and we missed this quarter. What we're seeing is a decrease in the business in Bankia Mapfre Vida, probably because the current situation and also the lower level of assets. Is that right, José Manuel?
Taking out any extraordinary results from life insurance. Our life insurance results is growing at a rate of 3%. Bankia Mapfre Vida is not performing so well as the last year, this year. Taking out Bankia Mapfre Vida, our evolution will be much better even than the evolution I have said. On the other side, I would like to highlight that the protection life combined ratio is 75%, which is a very good combined ratio.
Excellent.
We expect a good profitability from the life business.
Excellent news, José Manuel. Thank you very much. Sorry. There's a question coming from Bank of America. You've talked about returning to sustainable dividend path, but not yet the level. Does this include a rebasing from the loss of Bankia JV? Or you think that you can get back to the historic EUR 0.045 per share? Is a recurring question that we were receiving on how the dividend path is going to be in the future.
Yeah. Thank you for the question. I mean, the profit contribution on the Bankia JV is not that significant in order to force us to change our dividend policy. As I mentioned, it's more between EUR 10 million and EUR 11 million per quarter. Let's say that you should understand, when I mentioned that we want to come back to the sustainable dividend path is for many, many years, it was the dividend amount was EUR 0.145. As the President, our Chairman said, and also I mentioned as well in some meetings in the past, is that we would like to come back to this dividend position of EUR 0.145, as soon as possible. It won't depend, I mean, this return to this dividend path on the Bankia consideration. This is a completely different business. I mean, we should come back to EUR 0.145 by recurrent profits. That's pretty clear from my side. Yeah.
Thank you very much, Fernando. We come back to Mapfre, which is, I think that the main, the biggest change on the accounts this year. Mario Ropero from BofA is asking, let us know your views on the combined ratio for Mapfre going forward. How it's going to perform? What could we expect from Mapfre combined ratio?
Let's say that so far has been a quiet quarter and also quiet half of the year in terms of big Nat Cat events. We have only reported two Nat Cat events. One was the snowstorm Uri in the southern states of the U.S., and there was Filomena in the central Spain. Both they were, let's say, lower than mid-size Nat Cat events. The other impact was, as I mentioned, the COVID 2021 occurrence claims, and the impact was EUR 16 million net. Regarding the second half of the year, we know that the Germany heavy rains and flood will impact our combined ratio. We're not sure so far how big it will be, this impact. Probably it's a mid-size event. Let's say that in the long run, as we already mentioned, combined ratio for Mapfre should be a little bit lower than Mapfre Group.
In this range between 94-95 in a normal standard year should be the underlying combined ratio for Mapfre. On the global risk line of business, let's say that we're quite happy. I mean, it was a significant profit for the first half of the year in absence of any manmade significant losses. Let's keep our fingers crossed. I mean, the retention has been reduced to practically 15% of premiums. Let's say that we have lower exposure on global risk. Let's say that the profitability level should remain quite unchanged for the second half of the year.
Okay. You may just mention Filomena as a big claim.
It wasn't a big I mean, it was that big.
No, I mean, how did we service this?
Yeah.
on number of claims?
I mean, that's correct. In terms of retention, it was, let's say, lower than mid-size event. The cost was approximately EUR 20 million for the group. Most of the cost was split between Mapfre España. It was like EUR 10 million before taxes, and the remaining was for Mapfre. Let's say that the Filomena is now the second largest Nat Cat event.
Ever
ever in Spain. After Klaus, it was a hurricane one that enter Galicia, the north Spain, and exited Spain in Girona, I mean, in the Mediterranean coast. Filomena, in terms of claim adjusters and the additional resources that were allocated to this storm has been huge with over 53,000 claims open
Most of them, they're already adjusted and paid. In terms of the gross amount was EUR 80 million. Perhaps José Manuel can give us more color, but has been a claim that with a lot of work done in order to give the better quality to our policyholders. Is that right, José Manuel?
Yes, that right. It has been in terms of gross losses, the most important event that we have had in Spain. In terms of claims declared, the second one after Klaus. It has been a huge effort in terms of logistics with providers, et cetera, of course, to attend as best as possible the number of customers that was affected by the storm. We are very happy with the results. Fortunately, we could increase our NPS, Net Promoter Score, figures during these months. We are very extremely happy with the way in which we have attended our customers.
Thank you very much, José Manuel. We have another question related with Mapfre Re impact on the COVID losses that we booked on this event. Based on the 2021 events, what percentage of the portfolio would have responded to COVID losses in early 2020, still offers coverage after 2021 renewals? How it's been changing the wording of these contracts?
Let's say that we changed and we mentioned in the past, we're not working on this particular line of business. We don't give business interruption other than those that are linked to property damage. The only thing we made is we put in the conditions, a clearer wording in order to set a red line to this coverage that they're provided by the policy and thus that they're not provided. We haven't changed our policy regarding these coverage that they're not in the risk appetite of Mapfre.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. Philip Ross from Mediobanca is asking about Mapfre Asistencia. Can you say more on the InsureandGo disposals? Are U.K. and Australia the worst performing assistance segments?
Yeah. We disclosed that we are at the final stage to get the two operations solved. The one in the U.K., we are currently at the end of the information process. We file with the FCA and also even we disclose as well the name of the potential buyer. Let's say that there is just some formalities from the regulatory perspective, but the amount, the buyer, and everything is in a proper way in order to complete this transaction any time soon. Regarding Australia, currently we have a binding offer from a quite serious potential buyer. Let's say that we are working on the final details in order to have it. First we need to get approvals as well from the supervisors, but let's say that everything is in the proper way, and we believe that we can finish this transaction as well by year-end.
Other in the end, and we mentioned that there is seven assistance operations across the globe that they're currently categorizing the balance sheet as held for sale. Most of them they're non-strategic countries, and some of them they're generating profit, other they're on losses, particularly InsureandGo. I guess it's the right decision probably at the right time as well, because that's the moment that the market reacted for these proposals. Hopefully, we will finish this transaction by year-end. This is a very good news for Mapfre and also for our shareholders.
Thank you. Thank you very much, Fernando. Jakub Lichwa from UBS is asking about our ESG strategy. He's asking if we consider ESG as a risk or as an opportunity and on the short and medium future. Is today going to be a risk or an opportunity? What is going to happen in the medium term?
Well, it's neither risk nor an opportunity. It's a reality in Mapfre. That the first, let's say, ESG statement approved in Mapfre was back in the 1950s and many, many years ago, and when everybody was even thinking of just a business. At that point, the former executives of the Mapfre Mutualidad, they published a statement regarding corporate finance and corporate business. Let's say that it's a reality. It's very well-rooted. It's part of our DNA, and it's not an opportunity. It's a necessity. We have to give back and give part of our business, part of our profit, and part of the quality of all the things that we've done to the society. It's something very well-rooted in Mapfre.
Thank you very much, Fernando. We reiterate this kind of commitment with the stakeholders and with the society every time that we are in public. Carlos Peixoto was asking about our EUR 700 million net profit guidance for the full year 2021. Do we reiterate this guidance, these results?
I didn't hear you, sorry, Felipe.
Yes, Carlos Peixoto from CaixaBank BPI is asking about the EUR 700 million net profit guidance for the full year 2021. Should we reiterate this after these six months results?
Thank you. There is no evidence or any potential risk that could jeopardize the current EUR 700 million guidance that we published. We're pretty happy. Now for the performance of this first and second quarter. Since June 30, 2020, we're reporting quite stable and consistent quarters. We said that Mapfre has adapted very well to this scenario. We're not happy with the situation that this planet's living, but fortunately, Mapfre recurring in terms of business profit and also premium growth, is quite outstanding. Let's say that nothing is wrong, that nothing should be wrong. We will meet this guidance by year-end.
Okay, thank you very much. We come back to Spain. Francisco Ojeda from Banco Sabadell is asking, apart from competition, could you elaborate on frequency and average cost? For example, is claims frequency already similar to the pre-COVID levels, and can there be more to come? On severity, is inflation pickup impacting repair costs?
Okay, regarding frequency, it's still lower than 2019 levels. Frequency is evolving quickly to the same level, especially from May, as far the restrictions in mobility are lifted by the government. Regarding average cost, we haven't seen a significant increase. It's mainly because we are taking a bigger part of our claims redirected to our preferential repair shops. We haven't seen any tension coming from inflation on this average cost.
Thank you very much, José Manuel. Those are very good news. Francisco Riquel from Alantra is asking, can you comment on the financial impact of the buyout of minorities in the life business of Peru, expected net profit contribution for 2021, 2022, and impact on solvency ratio?
Thank you, Paco. We shouldn't expect a significant impact on the Solvency II ratio. As you know, for the eligible capital, we consider for Solvency II purposes, also a minority interest. Let's say that the level of capital that we hold in Mapfre Perú Vida is quite similar to the minimum. Let's say that the full amount of minority interest is fully booked for the Solvency II ratio. Let's say that we shouldn't expect any impact on our Solvency II ratio. Regarding the information, at the second event caption of the financial report, there is a full disclosure of numbers and figures from Mapfre Vida, has been a quite profitable entity for almost 35 years. I'll give you just one number. When we bought these operations back in 1986, we bought the 62% current stake by EUR 16 million.
Considering the current value that we apply for the transaction, the increase in value has been huge. Also another thing, we reviewed the number of dividends paid by this subsidiary, and for the last five years, the average was EUR 10 million of dividend. Let's say that the flow of dividend is pretty good.
That makes totally sense. Carlos Peixoto from CaixaBank BPI was asking similar questions about Peru, telling that the 20x implied price earnings for 2020 was seen demanding, and could you elaborate on the rationale expecting on the return on investment, payback, and its impacts in the solvency? Those are similars, and I think that you already answered those question. I don't know if you want to elaborate something more.
Yeah, one thing I forgot, Paco. For IFRS accounting purposes, the way we're going to treat this transaction is quite similar to the one in Brazil, but two years ago. The excess of equity that we paid for this transaction will be fully deducted from reserves. It won't be any goodwill nor VOBA in our balance sheet out of this transaction. We paid an extra amount above net equity, but it will be deducted from reserves. That it will be neutral for Solvency II and also for IFRS net equity.
Carlos Peixoto from CaixaBank BPI is asking about the release of provisions on this quarter. Should we expect more releases in the coming quarters, I think?
Well, it was a one-off, definitely, Carlos, and perhaps José Manuel can give us more color. Let's say that we have some earn-out provision and other commissions to pay our partners for business plan fulfillment. What we've made I'm not going to disclose any name, as you may imagine. What we done is just to adjust the current liabilities to the current circumstances. Due to the COVID or whatever other circumstances, let's say that some of our partners, they're not going to meet the business plan, we have adjusted the earn-outs and other contingent liabilities in that way.
Okay, thank you. Thank you very much. Andrew Sinclair from Bank of America Merrill Lynch is asking on Brazil protection loss. He's asking on how much was of this loss provisioning for future periods. He was asking if the increase in the losses were just to the quarter.
Thank you, Andrew. We book in an IBNR reserve in the region, particularly in LATAM region and across the countries, based on the number of days delay between the occurrence day and the reported day. Let's say that the range varies between 22 days and one and a half months. Let's say that is quite logical, I mean, this range, assuming that some of the business are coming from financial institution and there is usually a lag between the day that the claim is being reported to the financial institution and the subsequent reporting to the insurance operations. Let's say that as a conclusion, we book in an IBNR in order to cover future reported losses based on triangles and also the loss estimate for this particular line of business.
Thank you. Thank you very much. It seems that there are no more questions. We are going to close the session right now. I don't know if you want to say something.
Yeah. Thank you again for your presence. As I mentioned, it has been another robust quarter, quite stable. This is the good thing of Mapfre. Let's say that for three quarters in a row, we're reporting and we delivering what we promised at the end of June 30, 2020, that we will adapt our operations to the current circumstances. We're quite happy. Let's say the second half of the year, which is quite promising, but not COVID-related free of uncertainties. Thank you very much for your presence. Above all, we wish you the best for this summer holidays, and above all, please remain safe. Felipe, the word is for you.
Hi. Thank you. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much for your patience.
José Manuel Inchausti, do you want to say something for the closing?
No, Iberia for sure will report a similar performance in the second part of the year. I mean, they're quite recurrent business and is the most relevant unit and region in terms of business and profit contribution.
Thank you very much, both of you for being here and especially for José Manuel, who is not usually present in these meetings. Thank you very much, José Manuel.
Thank you.
Before closing the call today and moving on to logistics, I'm sure that most of you have received the invitation, but tomorrow, Tuesday, on the 27th, we will be hosting two group meetings. First, there will be a group in Spanish at 9:30 A.M., Central European time, followed by another group in English at 2:30 P.M., Central European time as well. Both meetings should be lasting around 45 minutes to an hour. Please get in touch with the IR team to confirm your attendance. You have the contact details in the presentation. Thank you for being here and being with us and please stay safe. Thank you very much.
Thank you again, and bye-bye.