The expansion in the 20th century

The new century marked the company’s takeoff. It began exploring other areas, investing in real estate and participating in businesses and companies outside Spain.

It also acquired a number of buildings, which later became its various headquarters. In 1901, it bought the building at 34 Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona, which would later become La Catalana's Head Office for many years. Ten years later it established a presence in Melilla. In 1920, it made its first investments in France (Paris) and Cuba and in 1926 it opened offices in Seville and in 1930 in Zaragoza.

By 1907, La Catalana had 26 employees. The company restructured in 1907 and began dividing up into sections, adding riot insurance to its fire insurance coverage.

In 1947, La Catalana decided to begin offering Life, Personal Injury, Workmen’s Compensation and Automobile Physical Damage Auto damage insurance. Group Life and School insurance coverage were added in 1962. The merger of La Catalana’s and Occidente's portfolios led to the creation of a large insurance group, as both companies contributed the portfolios of their subsidiaries: La Previsión Nacional, Intercontinental de Seguros, Cantabria and Occidental de Capitalización. At the same time, Inocsa joined the group, while the headquarters was streamlined and the scope of the activities was enlarged.

La Catalana continued to grow rapidly and by now had branches in all major cities in Spain. In 1960, it began operating directly in Morocco, France and Belgium.

In the early 1970s, the Catalana Occidente Group opened its new headquarters in Sant Cugat, Barcelona. The new office was not only larger and more modern, but symbolized the company's new philosophy and a fresh business approach.

In 1991, Catalana Occidente entered into a joint venture with Austrian insurance group Uniqa, giving rise to Cosalud, a medical insurance company in which the Group holds a stake of 55%.

Catalana Occidente’s shares have been traded on the Barcelona Stock Exchange since the beginning of the 20th century and on the Madrid Stock Exchange’s open outcry trading floor since 1995.

In 1996, La Previsión Nacional transferred its General Liability Insurance business to Catalana Occidente, S.A. and its Life premiums to Catoc Vida, a newly-created company with its own sales network of highly specialized consultants in life insurance.

Also in 1996, the company began redesigning its business approach, setting up a number of centers specializing in underwriting risk, handling claims, providing telephone assistance and administration.

In 1997, a share offering was held for institutional investors, after which the shares began trading on the Spanish continuous market.

Since the beginning of 1999, the Catalana Occidente Group has been selling Deutsche Bank’s financial products, namely personal and mortgage loans under highly competitive terms for its policyholders.

Towards the end of 1999, Catalana Occidente acquired Multinacional Aseguradora (MNA) from Caixa de Catalunya. This insurer provided the Catalana Occidente Group with a strategic opportunity and boosted turnover in its automobile insurance business.