MEXICO Law and Practice Contributed by: Carlos de la Garza, Raúl Acosta and Enrique Tamez, De la Garza & Acosta Abogados, S.C.
include strategic acquisitions, mergers between local companies, and the entry of foreign capital through the acquisition of stakes in Mexican insurers. As with any merger or acquisition transaction, the surviving company is liable for all obligations of the dissolved company. • Domestic investment: local insurers have actively participated in M&A transactions to expand their portfolio of products and services, and to increase their market share. • Foreign investment: foreign investors’ interest in the Mexican insurance market has remained con- sistent. A recent example is Mapfre’s acquisition of 94% of the shares of the Mexican insurer Insignia Life for around EUR86 million. An important development for the Mexican insurance industry has been the definitive resolution of the long- standing controversy concerning the crediting of VAT paid by insurers on claim settlements. As detailed in 2.3 Taxation of Premium , in late 2025 the Mexican government and the insurance sector reached an agreement formalised through a transitory article in the Ley de Ingresos de la Federación 2026 (Federal Revenue Law 2026). Under this arrangement, insurers are no longer permitted to credit input VAT related to claims payments, while the government waived the retroactive collection of alleged VAT liabilities accrued since 2015. This measure has provided short-term fiscal certainty but is expected to increase operat- ing costs and, consequently, premium prices in the medium term. 5. Distribution 5.1 Distribution of Insurance and Reinsurance Products Insurance institutions must comply with the following requirements. • Offer and enter into contracts related exclusively to their authorised operations, complying with appli- cable legal provisions and adhering to sound insur- ance practices, ensuring an appropriate selection of the risks they assume.
• Determine the net risk premiums, based on tech- nical criteria, to guarantee the fulfilment of the obligations they undertake with policyholders with a high degree of certainty. • Ensure that the provisions included in the contrac- tual documentation for various insurance opera- tions, as well as the determination of premium and extra-premium amounts, their refunds and the payment of dividends or bonuses, if such benefits are stipulated, do not result in a reduction of the net risk premium. • Clearly and precisely indicate the scope, terms, conditions, exclusions, limitations, deductibles or any other modalities established in the coverages or plans offered by the insurance institution, in the contractual documentation for insurance opera- tions and related documents, as well as the rights and obligations of policyholders, insured parties or beneficiaries. Similarly, they must maintain clarity and precision in individual or collective commu- nications made by any means with policyholders, clients, beneficiaries or the general public. • Verify that the contractual documentation and the technical notes for the insurance products offered to the public maintain consistency, ensuring that the obligations of the parties in the contract align with the technical determinations of the respective insurance product. The products offered by insurance institutions to the public are comprised of the technical note, contrac- tual documentation and an “opinion on consistency” covering the following aspects: • a description of the coverage and each insured risk; • actuarial procedures for determining premiums and extra-premiums; • technical justification of the sufficiency of premi- ums and, if applicable, extra-premiums; • actuarial procedures for estimating the technical reserves of the insurance product and their con- nection to actuarial methods; • deductibles, franchises or any other modalities that may apply; • technical justification for the interest rate used in calculating premiums and technical reserves, including demographic and statistical bases, and
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