Co-operative and mutual insurers continue to grow

Co-operatives and mutuals active in the insurance sector have continued to expand their global reach. A report by the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) showed the number of people covered by mutual and co-operative insurers grew to 955 million in 2014, from 923 million in 2013.

The sector was also employing 1.11m people worldwide in 2014, a 20% increase since pre-financial crisis levels. Icmif’s Global Mutual Market Share report features an analysis of the premium income, assets and investments of 5,000 mutual and co-operative insurance companies from 77 countries across the world.

Mutual and co-operative insurers have also grown faster than the general insurance sector. Co-operative insurers grew their premium income market by 30% between 2007 and 2014, compared with the 13.6% witnessed by the total insurance market during the same period. The global market share of the mutual/co-operative sector grew from 23.7% in 2007 to 27% in 2014. Mutual insurers held a record market share in the European (31.2%) and North American (35.5%) markets in 2014.

Shaun Tarbuck, chief executive of Icmif, added: “There has been a shift in consumers’ buying behaviour since the financial crisis, and this has given the mutual and co-operative insurance model a competitive advantage against shareholder-owned insurance companies. Mutual and co-operative insurers tend to have a greater level of trust and customer satisfaction associated with them, as their intentions are closely aligned with that of the policyholder.