Adding value brings success

AVS SEGUROS emerged from Jardine Insurance Services, which opened its first office in Portugal in 1988. The company was re-launched as AVS in 1996 when the Hong Kong-based Jardine group decided to sell the business and it was taken over by its Portuguese management team.
“Because the business had been developed by the local team and was not based on international clients, we did not lose clients with the change of ownership,” says AVS President António Vilela da Silva.
“We developed the business and in five years we doubled the figures, because we didn’t change the philosophy, the culture of the enterprise. At the end of the day, it’s the same people, the same organization, so it was easy to make the necessary changes.”
The company has its headquarters in Lisbon and offices in Porto, Coimbra, Leiria, Portimão and Funchal, and is growing both organically and by making acquisitions.

“We have been acquiring small agencies, not big operations,” says Mr. Vilela da Silva, who is also President of the European Insurance Brokers’ Association. “In the last two years we have made four acquisitions. The central region, Coimbra, is where we need to consolidate our operation.”
This year AVS made the important strategic move of acquiring 9.75 percent of Capital Social da SGF, Sociedade Gestora de Fundos Pensões. “We are the first and the only broker to have a position in a pension management society like this,” says Mr. Vilela da Silva. “We believe it represents a great business opportunity for us.”

ANTONIO VILELA DA SILVA President of AVS

AVS deals in all classes of insurance, but specializes in the tourism sector, including hotels and car hire.
“We are generalists, but in a market like Portugal you need to have some kind of specialization,” says Mr. Vilela da Silva. “Ours is in all branches linked with tourism, which is one of the leading activities in Portugal. For us this is an important target market.“It’s not a question of price, it’s a question of service. As brokers, we must provide a service to the client, we need to add value to the insurance product, and that is what we do.AVS are brokers to ICEP, the government agency that promotes Portugal as a location for investment, a tourism destination and a producer of high-quality goods and services.
The company’s clients also include Portuguese companies who invest in Mozambique and Brazil. “We follow them and offer the same service that we offer here,” says Mr. Vilela da Silva.
AVS are also brokers to the Portuguese Industrial Association, AIP, and to the Portuguese Business Association, AEP.