Colombia-based Grupo Coomeva will launch a new insurance company in Chile in the second half of 2018, La República reported, citing company Chairman Alfredo Arana.

The new company will focus on health insurance and will be developed through Coomeva's Colombian partner, nonprofit healthcare company Christus Health, and in alliance with Universidad Católica de Chile and financial company Avla.

The group is also looking at the possibility of expanding its insurance business in Peru and Mexico next year, Arana said.

Aside from broadening its presence in the region, the group is also producing a virtual agent, "an idea that we have developed very well," Arana said.

Grupo Coomeva is the owner of Colombia-based Banco Coomeva SA.