“The Madrid Region today offers a combination that is very difficult to find in other European capitals: specialized talent, an international outlook, technological capabilities, and a highly dynamic business ecosystem. And that is essential for a global company like Allianz.”
Allianz is one of the world’s largest insurance and asset management groups. How significant is the Spanish operation today within that global landscape, and what role does Spain play in the Group’s strategy?
Indeed, Allianz is currently one of the strongest and most recognized financial and insurance companies in the world, operating in nearly 70 countries, serving more than 128 million customers, and employing over 156,000 people. In addition, we are ranked the number one global brand in insurance and asset management according to the Brand Finance Global 500.
Within that context, Spain is playing an increasingly important role in the Group’s strategy. Allianz Spain has established itself as one of the best-performing entities, particularly in the Non-Life business, where in 2025 we reached €3.371 billion in premiums and achieved the highest growth among the Group’s major regions.
Today, we support 4.6 million customers in Spain and manage more than 1.4 million claims each year, based on a model focused on technical excellence, service quality, and sustainability. Moreover, 2025 was an especially positive year, with profit growth of 31% and performance above market levels in key business lines such as Motor insurance.
Spain is therefore a strategic market for Allianz due to its size, growth potential, and innovation capabilities. From here, we are driving transformation, sustainability, and customer experience initiatives with real impact on the Group’s global development. Our goal is to continue growing sustainably and consolidate our position as the leading insurer in Spain.
Allianz moved its Spanish headquarters from Barcelona to Madrid in 2017. Looking back over these almost ten years, how would you assess that decision?
It was a strategic decision aligned with our desire to strengthen our institutional and business presence in the capital, and today almost the entire Executive Committee is based in Madrid.
The overall assessment of this period is clearly positive. Madrid has become a key center for Allianz Seguros, from which we promote business, innovation, and transformation initiatives with a long-term vision. The city has provided us with a dynamic, international environment and a strong ability to attract talent — all essential elements for a global company like ours.
At the same time, Allianz continues to maintain a strong presence in Barcelona, where approximately half of our workforce is based and where we continue to operate strategic capabilities, reflecting the truly national scope of our company.
Over these years, we have consolidated a solid and sustainable growth model, strengthening our market position and deepening our closeness to customers, brokers, and partners.
How has the workforce in Madrid evolved since then? What strategic functions are currently based at the Madrid headquarters?
The evolution of our workforce in Madrid reflects the growing importance of the headquarters within Allianz Spain. At the beginning of 2026, Madrid already accounted for 57% of the company’s workforce, consolidating its role as a strategic pillar for the Group.
Today, key functions related to leadership, innovation, and strategic decision-making are carried out from the Madrid headquarters. From here, we are driving digitalization and business transformation initiatives with an increasingly integrated vision between business and technology.
In addition, Allianz remains strongly committed to the continuous development of its teams. Last year, the Group invested €118 million in training, with an average of 65 hours of learning per employee, particularly in digital skills, artificial intelligence, and data analytics.
In short, Madrid has become a strategic center for Allianz Spain, combining innovation, transformation capabilities, and a global vision.
Madrid Region is now competing with major European regions to attract regional headquarters of large financial corporations. From your experience, what advantages does being based in Madrid offer Allianz?
Madrid today offers a combination that is very difficult to find in other European capitals: specialized talent, an international outlook, technological capabilities, and a highly dynamic business ecosystem. And that is essential for a global company like Allianz.
In fact, the Allianz Group has decided to strengthen strategic international capabilities from Spain by establishing global hubs in Madrid, coordinating multinational operations across more than 20 countries. This demonstrates that Spain is consolidating its position as a benchmark platform for the European insurance sector.
The main reason is talent. Madrid has highly qualified professionals, international diversity, and a strong capacity to adapt to an increasingly technological and specialized environment. In addition, the city has an enormous ability to attract global talent. At Allianz Spain, we see this clearly: 8% of our workforce comes from other countries, which greatly enriches our teams and international perspective. And this exchange also works in the opposite direction, with Spanish professionals developing their careers in other Group markets.
Ultimately, Madrid is not only a great place to operate; it is an ideal place from which to build global capabilities and lead the transformation of the sector.
Tell us a bit more about these global hubs that will enable international operations from Madrid.
Until now, many of these strategic capabilities were managed from the Munich headquarters. Today, Allianz has made a very significant decision: to bring part of that leadership and those international operations to Spain. And this is not just a geographical change; it represents recognition of the talent, technological capabilities, and maturity of Madrid’s business ecosystem to take on high-value global functions.
These global hubs are a clear example of that commitment. The Madrid region will host the Allianz Global Underwriting Hub, an international center focused on optimizing risk assessment and underwriting. It is a globally oriented hub that will support Allianz commercial operations worldwide, combining advanced technology, data analytics, and specialized expertise.
In addition, Allianz Commercial has also chosen Madrid as the location for its new Global Multinational Center of Excellence. This means that international insurance programs for companies operating across multiple countries will be coordinated from Spain, positioning Madrid as a strategic node within the Group’s global network.
And all of this has a major impact. Not only does it attract highly qualified jobs and international capabilities, but it also boosts innovation and accelerates the development of new technological tools, including generative artificial intelligence, to provide faster, more coordinated, and more efficient service to our customers around the world.
Allianz has also launched the second edition of the Allianz Entrepreneurship Institute this year to train new agents. What does this initiative involve, and what objectives does it achieve?
At Allianz, we believe that the future of the insurance sector depends on talent. That is why we launched the Allianz Entrepreneurship Institute, a pioneering initiative designed to attract, train, and develop a new generation of insurance and financial advisory professionals. We aim to attract people with a more entrepreneurial profile.
We like to describe it as “the IE Business School of the insurance world,” because it combines specialized training, an entrepreneurial mindset, mentoring, official certifications, and advanced tools based on artificial intelligence — all with real access to the business from day one.
The first two editions have confirmed the project’s enormous potential, demonstrating a strong ability to attract talent and receiving excellent feedback from participants. In addition, it addresses one of the sector’s major challenges: generational renewal, helping to build solid, modern, and entrepreneurship-oriented professional careers.
And precisely because of the initiative’s success, we have already opened the registration period for the third edition of the Allianz Entrepreneurship Institute.
Is the Madrid region a competitive market for attracting specialized talent in your sector? Do you compete with other European cities for the same profiles?
Yes, absolutely. Madrid currently competes with other major European capitals for the same specialized talent, especially in sectors such as finance, insurance, and technology. However, the reality is that the city is becoming increasingly attractive internationally.
Madrid combines several highly distinctive factors: a strong base of qualified professionals, public and private universities, internationally renowned business schools such as IE and IESE, a high quality of life, and an increasingly global and technological business ecosystem. All of this makes it a very attractive destination for both national and international talent.
At Allianz, we strongly believe in Madrid’s potential as a talent hub. This evolution demonstrates our confidence in Madrid not only as a local market, but also as a strategic platform for attracting, developing, and projecting specialized talent globally.
What role does Allianz play in Madrid’s financial and insurance ecosystem? Do you collaborate with local agents and smaller companies, acting as a driving force?
Allianz plays a very active role within Madrid’s financial and insurance ecosystem, not only as a major international company but also as a promoter of talent, innovation, and business development.
We work closely with agents, brokers, entrepreneurs, and SMEs, helping them grow in an increasingly digital and specialized environment. That is why we have created agent and broker hubs as spaces for collaboration, training, and innovation, where we share technological tools and new capabilities to improve the customer experience and make their businesses more competitive.
In addition, we are deeply committed to supporting SMEs, which today face increasingly complex risks, from cyberattacks to business interruption. Through initiatives such as “Brave Businesses,” we aim to support them beyond traditional insurance by offering solutions tailored to their evolving needs.
This commitment to ecosystem development is also reflected in initiatives such as the Allianz Entrepreneurship Institute, through which we are fostering a new generation of insurance and financial professionals.
Ultimately, we want to contribute to the growth of Madrid’s insurance ecosystem by acting as a platform for innovation, development, and opportunity generation.
How is Allianz applying artificial intelligence to transform customer experience and insurance management in Spain?
At Allianz, we have been working with artificial intelligence since 2018, particularly in areas such as claims management, which has allowed us to develop capabilities long before the current boom in generative AI.
Today, Spain is one of the Group’s most advanced countries in the practical application of this technology. We already have operational solutions such as EasyClaims, where customers upload photos of damages and AI assesses the claim and proposes compensation within minutes. We also use artificial intelligence to anticipate risks, detect dissatisfaction patterns, and improve claims and fraud management in real time.
All of this reflects a very clear vision: using technology to provide a faster, more personalized, and more proactive service, always under a “human in the loop” approach, where technology complements people, but important decisions continue to involve human supervision.
Furthermore, the Group’s commitment to this transformation is enormous: Allianz invested €6.5 billion in technology last year alone, and Allianz Spain is playing a very significant role in that evolution.
From your position as a major multinational financial group, how do you perceive Madrid’s evolution over the last decade? And how is it perceived internationally?
Madrid’s evolution over the last decade has been truly impressive. From the perspective of a global company like Allianz, the city has gone from being primarily a large local market to becoming a true international center for talent, innovation, and business capabilities.
Today, Madrid competes with other major European capitals in attracting investment, specialized talent, and international projects, combining factors that are very difficult to find together: quality of life, connectivity, legal certainty, technological capabilities, and outstanding talent.
This has significantly changed its international perception. Increasingly, Madrid is seen not only as an attractive place to live, but also as a strategic location from which to operate and grow internationally. We clearly see this at Allianz through the decision to bring global hubs and high-value operations to Spain.
Moreover, Madrid has developed a highly dynamic ecosystem in innovation, digitalization, and entrepreneurship — something particularly relevant in sectors such as finance and insurance, which are undergoing major technological transformation.
Have you collaborated, or do you currently collaborate, with Madrid’s public institutions? If so, how would you assess your relationship with them?
At a time of such profound transformation as the one we are experiencing, the relationship between companies and public institutions can no longer be limited to an administrative framework; it must become a genuine partnership to promote competitiveness, trust, and social progress.
At Allianz Spain, we value our dialogue with Madrid’s institutions very positively because we find an attitude of openness, long-term vision, and willingness to build together. We have had the opportunity to collaborate closely with different departments of the Madrid regional government, especially with the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Employment, as well as in areas related to sustainability, social services, and emergency response — always within a highly positive and collaborative relationship.
I would also particularly like to highlight the work carried out with Invest Madrid and its director, Luis Socias, together with his entire team. Their commitment, dedication, and effectiveness were extremely important in securing one of Allianz’s most significant global hubs. Several cities were finalists and competition was intense, and their collaboration was key to Madrid ultimately being selected.
Finally, if you had to send a message to other international companies considering investing or expanding in the Madrid region, what factors would you highlight?
To an international company, I would say that Madrid offers something increasingly difficult to find: balance. A balance between competitiveness and quality of life, between international reach and proximity, and between business maturity and dynamism.
When a company decides to invest, it does not only analyze economic variables; it also evaluates where it can attract and retain talent, grow quickly, and develop teams in an attractive environment. And in that respect, Madrid has a very clear competitive advantage.
In addition, the city brings together multinationals, startups, universities, and technology hubs that create a very powerful ecosystem with a great capacity to connect talent, cultures, and markets.
And something very important: Madrid has demonstrated an enormous ability to adapt in a context of accelerated technological and economic transformation, offering an agile, dynamic environment with a forward-looking vision.