GCO expects to correct the lack of operational profitability of health insurance by the end of the year.

"Healthcare is a strategic sector for us." With this statement, Isidro Lapeña, CFO of GCO (Catalan Western Group), made it clear at the presentation of its June results that the insurer remains committed to this branch and is confident that the strategy already deployed to address the imbalances it faces will be successful before the end of 2025.

In the first half of the year, Occident (the brand that focuses on the distribution of traditional insurance) recorded revenue from health insurance policies that was 2% higher than the previous year, reaching €135.1 million . However, this increase was not enough to guarantee the profitability of this area, which, affected by the increase in claims, has become a weak point in GCO's business in 2025.

Higher costs for providing health coverage have pushed the combined ratio (which calculates the impact of claims and operating expenses on premiums) for this branch above 100%. As of June, this ratio stood at 100.4% , according to information released by Occident.

"Although we're currently at a technical loss, we're improving. At the end of March , we were at 104.4% , but the measures we've adopted selectively to absorb more claims and adapt to our clients' risk profiles are already starting to take effect," Lapeña argued.

"Health premium growth was moderate in the first quarter due to the agreement with Telefónica [GCO exclusively manages the group health insurance policies for the operator's employees], which is renewed in January and initially limits the increase in premiums," the executive stated. "But this effect fades over the months, which is why the increase was greater in the second quarter," he added.

"Excluding the Telefónica effect, the business is growing by around 5%, below the market, although improving quarter on quarter," the group's CFO emphasized. This positive premium growth stems from strong sales and also from the adjustment in rates. Further development will be key to health insurance's ability to regain profitability. Lapeña has no doubt about this.

"Looking toward the end of the year , we hope that the measures adopted will lead the industry to progressively improve, eventually reaching profitability with a combined ratio below 100% ," the executive stated. "I believe we will reach this goal in the short term," he concluded.