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Family Ties Brothers Mark Jr. and Keith Laferla assumed joint Managing Director positions at Laferla last year, with their youngest brother Kevin also settling into management. Mark Laferla Jr. speaks about the plans, hopes, goals and ambitions for the insurance provider in 2022.
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aferla is now in its 38th year of operation, having been founded by Mark Laferla Sr in 1984. Over the years, the brand has carved out a very respectable position in the market for a high standard of service, and an unmatched claim settlement promise. “We are now running the day-to-day operations, while our father remains Chairman of the board and offers guidance based on his 50 years in the industry,” Mark Laferla Jr. explains, “Each of the three siblings is focused on a particular area of the business and we are encouraged to see that the hard work and efforts of our entire team have translated into a strong and steady growth path for the firm over the years with an enviable portfolio of private and commercial clients. Over the course of 2022, we plan to continue to strengthen our position in the local
“The economy is a giant web of connected elements; and no industry, including the insurance sector, is immune to this. If our clients start to feel the pinch of the economy being impacted by any of these factors, then we will in-turn feel the impact too.” market as a leading insurance provider, whilst focusing more on our expansion plans overseas as well as in other business sectors.”
As we go into 2022, Mr Laferla feels that the country faces three primary challenges, which will require some tough decisions to be taken. “The first is the pandemic where we need to move away from handling the situation as a crisis and move towards living with the fact that the disease is here to stay, in whatever variation or mutation it may take. Restrictions, and limitations are going to be counter-productive in the long term if we do not clearly and decisively begin to shift away from them and move towards what we now refer to as ‘pre-pandemic’ ways of life. “The second major decision relates to the grey listing, which we are sure we have not yet felt the affects of. We must strike a balance between proving our jurisdiction is reliable, while all the while allowing the business sector to operate without further complicating and burdening the economy with excessive tick-box exercises. Lastly, the reputation and accessibility of Malta as a place to do business must be restored by going back to the drawing board and again promoting the island for our strengths, while showing that we are serious about addressing any shortcomings we know we have.” Mr Laferla states that the fact of the matter is that each of the three challenges listed above will impact every aspect of the Maltese economy to some degree or another. “The economy is a giant web of connected elements; and no industry, including the insurance sector, is immune to this. If our clients start to feel the pinch of the economy being impacted by any of these factors, then we will inturn feel the impact too. Our company is very focused on maintaining our renowned service, whilst continuously investing heavily in area of the operation such as our IT infrastructure to further be able to service our clients efficiently and professionally. Availability of manpower is also a challenge for all industries, especially because we have seen the expat community diminish during the pandemic and they are nowadays a key part of the local workforce and community.” n
