Mutual insurance

A mutual insurance company is an insurance company owned entirely by its policyholders. 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.

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

List of mutual insurance companies

Multinational

Bermuda

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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Mennonite Mutual Fire Insurance Company
  • Mennonite Mutual Insurance Company (Alberta) Ltd.
  • Middlesex Mutual Insurance Company
  • 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
  • The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co.
  • 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

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

France

General Mutual insurance companies

  • Groupama
  • MACIF
  • MAIF
  • Matmut
  • MAAF
  • MMA
  • SMACL
  • Thélem Assurances


Health insurance companies

  • MGEN
  • Mutualia
  • Mutuelle Générale
  • Harmonie Mutuelle*
  • MNT

Germany

Japan
  • Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Company
  • Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company
  • Nippon Life Insurance Company
  • Sumitomo Life Insurance Company
  • Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Company

New Zealand
  • FMG Insurance
  • MAS

Philippines

Slovenia
  • Vzajemna

South Africa
  • PPS (Professional Provident Society)[9]
  • Iemas[10]
  • AVBOB[11]

Spain

Sweden

United Kingdom

United States
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References
  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.
  7. What demutualization means for policyholders. Insure.com. January 28, 2003
  8. https://www.lbforsikring.dk/om-lb-forsikring
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-12-17. Retrieved 2014-12-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-12-17. Retrieved 2014-12-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. "AVBOB – Home Page". avbob.co.za.
  12. "Grinnell Mutual". Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance.
  13. "About Guardian | Guardian".
  14. Insurance, Mennonite Mutual. "Faith-Based & Church Insurance - Agribusiness & Farm Insurance". www.mennonitemutual.com.
  15. "Financials and Reports". Securian Financial.
  16. "Expect more from your work comp partner". SFM Mutual Insurance.

Further reading
  • Emery, Herbert, and George Emery. A Young Man’s Benefit: The Independent Order of Odd Fellows And Sickness Insurance in the United States and Canada, 1860-1929 (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1999).
  • Van Leeuwen, Marco H.D. Mutual Insurance, 1550-2015: From Guild Welfare and Friendly Societies to Contemporary Micro-Insurers (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016) 321 pp. online review, A standard scholarly history


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