Mutual insurance

A mutual insurance company is an insurance company owned entirely by its policyholders. It is a form of consumers' co-operative. Any profits earned by a mutual insurance company are either retained within the company or rebated to policyholders in the form of dividend distributions or reduced future premiums. In contrast, a stock insurance company is owned by investors who have purchased company stock; any profits generated by a stock insurance company are distributed to the investors without necessarily benefiting the policyholders.

History

The concept of mutual insurance originated in England in the late 17th century to cover losses due to fire.^[1] The mutual/casualty insurance industry began in the United States in 1752 when Benjamin Franklin established the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses From Loss by Fire.^[1] Mutual property/casualty insurance companies exist now in nearly every country around the globe.^[2]

The global trade association for the industry, the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation, claims 216 members in 74 countries, in turn representing over 400 insurers.^[3] In North America the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), founded in 1895, is the sole representative of U.S. and Canadian mutual insurance companies in the areas of advocacy and education.^[4]

Recent developments in the United States

The "mutual holding company" structure was first introduced in Iowa in 1995, and has spread since then.^[5] There have been concerns that the mutual holding company conversion is disadvantageous for the owners of the company, the policyholders.^[6] The major disadvantage of mutual insurance companies is the difficulty of raising capital.^[7]

In the 111th Congress, Carolyn Maloney sponsored a bill that she claimed would have protected mutual holding company owners. The measure, H.R. 3291, died in committee.^{[citation needed]}

Mutual holding companies are one way to undergo privatization, also called demutualization.

List of mutual insurance companies

Multinational

Association Internationale de la Mutualité

Bermuda

Oil Insurance Limited

Canada

Algoma Mutual Insurance Company
Amherst Island Mutual Insurance Company
Antigonish Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company
Ayr Farmers Mutual Insurance Company
Bay of Quinte Mutual Insurance Company
Beneva insurance
Bertie & Clinton Mutual Insurance Company
Brant Mutual Insurance Company
Caradoc Delaware Mutual Insurance Company
Carleton Mutual Insurance Company
Cayuga Mutual Insurance Company
Clare Mutual Insurance Company
The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group
Dufferin Mutual Insurance Company
Dumfries Mutual Insurance Company
Edge Mutual Insurance Company
The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada
Erie Mutual Insurance Company
Fundy Mutual Insurance Company
Germania Mutual Insurance Company
Germania Mutual Insurance Company Saskatchewan
Gore Mutual Insurance Company
Grenville Mutual Insurance Company
Halwell Mutual Insurance Company
Hay Mutual Insurance Company
Heartland Farm Mutual (formerly North Waterloo & Oxford)
Howard Mutual Insurance Company
Howick Mutual Insurance Company
HTM Insurance Company
Kent & Essex Mutual Insurance Company
The Kings Mutual Insurance Company
Lambton Mutual Insurance Company
L&A Mutual Insurance Company
MAX Canada Insurance Company
McKillop Mutual Insurance Company
My Mutual Insurance
Mennonite Mutual Insurance Company (Alberta) Ltd.
Middlesex Mutual Insurance Company
The Mutual Fire Insurance Company of British Columbia
Norfolk Mutual Insurance Company
North Blenheim Mutual Insurance Company
North Kent Mutual Insurance Company
Peel Mutual Insurance Company
PEI Mutual Insurance Company
Pictou County Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company
Portage la Prairie Mutual Insurance Company
Promutuel Mutual Insurance Company
Red River Mutual Insurance
Saskatchewan Mutual Insurance Company
SouthEastern Mutual Insurance Company
South Easthope Mutual Insurance Company
Stanley Mutual Insurance Company
Town & Country Mutual Insurance Company
Townsend Mutual Insurance Company
Tradition Mutual Insurance Company
Trillium Mutual Insurance Company
United General Insurance Corporation
Usborne & Hibbert Mutual Insurance Company
Wabisa Mutual Insurance Company
Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company
West Elgin Mutual Insurance Compa
Westminster Mutual Insurance Company
West Wawanosh Mutual Insurance Company
Yarmouth Mutual Insurance Company

Denmark

Tryg (owned 60% by the mutual company Tryghedsgruppen)
Lærerstandens Brandforsikring^[8]

Faroe Islands

The Faroe Insurance Company (Tryggingarfelagið Føroyar)

Finland

Pohjantähti Mutual Insurance www.pohjantahti.fi
Mutual Insurance Company Turva www.turva.fi

France

General Mutual insurance companies

Groupama
MACIF
MAIF [fr]
Matmut
MAAF
MMA
SMACL
Thélem Assurances
Mocf
Mutlog

Health insurance companies

ACORIS Mutuelles
Almutra
Avenir Santé Mutuelle
Choralis Mutuelle le libre choix
Complévie
CMIP
EMOA Mutuelle du Var
Groupe Victor HUGO
La Maison du Fonctionnaire
La Mutuelle Catalane
La Mutuelle des Remparts
MBA Mutuelle
MCEN
M Comme Mutuelle
MFCF
Mutuelle Entrain
Mutuelle Générale d'Avignon
Mutuelle Générale des Cheminots
MIPSS Auvergne
MOAT
Mutuelle Matra Hachette
Mutuelle du Pays Martégal
Mutuelle du Pays de Vaucluse
Mutuelle du Rempart
Mutuelle SEPR
Mutuelle SERAMM
Mutuelles du Soleil
Precocia
Sereina Mutuelle

Germany

Japan

New Zealand

Philippines

Insular Life

Slovenia

Vzajemna

South Africa

PPS (Professional Provident Society)^[9]
Iemas^[10]
AVBOB^[11]

Spain

Mutua Madrileña

Sweden

Alecta
Dina Försäkringar
Folksam
Länsförsäkringar
Skandia

United Kingdom

United States

Acacia Life Insurance Company
Acuity Insurance
AEGIS Limited^[12]
American Family Insurance
Ameritas Life Insurance Company
Amica Mutual Insurance Company
Assurity Life Insurance Company
Auto-Owners Insurance
Some Blue Cross Blue Shield Association affiliated companies (except Elevance Health, formerly known as Anthem).
Central Mutual Insurance Company
Commonwealth Mutual Insurance Company of America
Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance
Co-operative Insurance Companies
COUNTRY Financial
CUNA Mutual Group
Employers Mutual Casualty Company
Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa
FM Global (Factory Mutual Insurance Company)
Grange Insurance Association
Georgia Farm Bureau Federation
Grange Mutual Casualty Company
Greater New York Mutual Insurance Companies^[13]
Grinnell Mutual^[14]
Guardian Life^[15]
Health Care Service Corporation (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas)
Lafayette Life
Liberty Mutual
Maple Valley Mutual Insurance
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
Medical Mutual of Ohio
Mennonite Mutual Insurance Company^[16]
Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company
Minnesota Mutual Companies, Inc.^[17]
Missouri Employers Mutual
Mutual Benefit Life Insurance
Mutual of America
Mutual of Omaha
National Life Group
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
New England Life
NYCM Insurance
New York Life
NJM Insurance Group
The Norfolk & Dedham Group
Noridian Mutual Insurance Company
Northwestern Mutual
Ohio National Life Insurance Company
OneAmerica Financial Partners, Inc.
Pacific Life Insurance Company
PEMCO
Penn Mutual
Pure
Sawgrass Mutual Insurance Company
Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York
Sentry Insurance
SFM Mutual Insurance Companies^[18]
Shelter Insurance
State Farm Insurance
UNIFI Companies
Union Central Life Insurance Company
West Bend Mutual Insurance Company
Wisconsin Mutual Insurance Company
Western Mutual Insurance Group

References

^ ^a ^b Wright, Janet; Virginia Wadsley; Janice Artandi (1994). The History of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, A Century of Commitment, 1895–1995. Indianapolis, IN: National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. pp. 1–5.
^ "Association of Mutual Insurers and Insurance Cooperatives in Europe". AMICE. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
^ "ICMIF Members list". Archived from the original on February 3, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
^ Wright, Janet; Virginia Wadsley; Janice Artandi (1994). The History of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, A Century of Commitment, 1895–1995. Indianapolis, IN: National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. p. 21.
^ Banstetter et al. (1997). The Mutual Holding Company: A New Structural Option. The Association of Life Insurance Counsel. pp 65-140
^ Rambeck R. (2001). Mutual Holding Company: A Shell Game Without the Pea. Insurance Journal.
^ What demutualization means for policyholders. Insure.com. January 28, 2003
^ "Om LB Forsikring A/S".
^ "About PPS - Our Heritage | Mutual Financial Services Exclusively for Graduate Professionals". Archived from the original on 2014-12-17. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
^ "Overview". Archived from the original on 2014-12-17. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
^ "AVBOB – Home Page". avbob.co.za.
^ "Utility Insurance". Aegis Limited.
^ "About GNY". Greater New York Mutual Insurance Companies.
^ "Grinnell Mutual". Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance.
^ "About Guardian | Guardian".
^ Insurance, Mennonite Mutual. "Faith-Based & Church Insurance - Agribusiness & Farm Insurance". www.mennonitemutual.com.
^ "Financials and Reports". Securian Financial.
^ "Expect more from your work comp partner". SFM Mutual Insurance.

External links

NAMIC – National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies
ICMIF – International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation
AFM – Association of Financial Mutuals (UK)
University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives: Research on the Economic Impact of Cooperatives. Economic Impacts of Cooperatives › Financial Services > Mutual Insurance

[Wright_1994_1–5-1] Wright, Janet; Virginia Wadsley; Janice Artandi (1994). The History of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, A Century of Commitment, 1895–1995. Indianapolis, IN: National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. pp. 1–5.

[2] "Association of Mutual Insurers and Insurance Cooperatives in Europe". AMICE. Retrieved 24 February 2011.

[3] "ICMIF Members list". Archived from the original on February 3, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2010.

[4] Wright, Janet; Virginia Wadsley; Janice Artandi (1994). The History of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, A Century of Commitment, 1895–1995. Indianapolis, IN: National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. p. 21.

[5] Banstetter et al. (1997). The Mutual Holding Company: A New Structural Option. The Association of Life Insurance Counsel. pp 65-140

[6] Rambeck R. (2001). Mutual Holding Company: A Shell Game Without the Pea. Insurance Journal.

[Demutualization-7] What demutualization means for policyholders. Insure.com. January 28, 2003

[8] "Om LB Forsikring A/S".

[9] "About PPS - Our Heritage | Mutual Financial Services Exclusively for Graduate Professionals". Archived from the original on 2014-12-17. Retrieved 2014-12-17.

[10] "Overview". Archived from the original on 2014-12-17. Retrieved 2014-12-17.

[11] "AVBOB – Home Page". avbob.co.za.

[12] "Utility Insurance". Aegis Limited.

[13] "About GNY". Greater New York Mutual Insurance Companies.

[14] "Grinnell Mutual". Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance.

[15] "About Guardian | Guardian".

[16] Insurance, Mennonite Mutual. "Faith-Based & Church Insurance - Agribusiness & Farm Insurance". www.mennonitemutual.com.

[17] "Financials and Reports". Securian Financial.

[18] "Expect more from your work comp partner". SFM Mutual Insurance.

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