The CEO of MatErh discusses the evolution of the insurance market, the shift in the market cycle and the transformation of insurance broking towards a more consultative and strategic model.
“An insurance policy is just a tool: risk management starts much earlier.” With this perspective, José María Erhardt Barrenchea, CEO of MatErh, analyses the new landscape facing Spain’s insurance sector in an interview published by the Magazine of the Association for the Progress of Management (APD).
After several years characterised by a “hard” market, 2026 marks the beginning of a new cycle, with a softer market environment, greater capacity for policy renewals and increasing pressure on margins. This context is accelerating the transformation of the sector and creating new challenges for insurance brokers.
Against this backdrop, José María Erhardt advocates for the broker to take on an increasingly consultative and strategic role. The challenge is no longer simply to transfer risks to the insurance market, but to help organisations understand and manage them comprehensively: identifying, preventing, controlling and mitigating risks, while turning to insurance risk transfer when it is the right solution.
This approach is particularly relevant in an increasingly complex, international and highly regulated business environment. Not all risks have an insurance solution, and in such cases the broker must also play a value-adding role. Regulatory and compliance risks, for example, require analysis, prevention, control and management, going beyond any risk-transfer solution.
The interview also explores some of the key developments transforming the sector, including the concentration and consolidation of the insurance broking market, as well as the growing value of specialisation and independence in an increasingly competitive environment.
MatErh’s growth
During the interview, José María Erhardt also discusses the evolution of MatErh and its commitment to a growth model that combines organic development with the selective integration of new companies, while maintaining its core pillars: its people, business expertise, the combination of Consulting and Broking, specialisation, independence and proximity to clients.
The strategy is aimed at consolidating a broking model capable of supporting organisations comprehensively and providing solutions tailored to the nature and complexity of each individual risk.
An interview offering first-hand insight into the present and future of insurance broking in Spain, as well as MatErh’s evolution in response to the new challenges and opportunities emerging across the sector.
