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 Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the late 17th century to cover losses due to fire. 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. Mutual property/casualty insurance companies exist now in nearly every country around the globe. The global

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...

for the industry, the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation, claims 216 members in 74 countries, in turn representing over 400 insurers. 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.

Recent developments in the United States

The "mutual holding company" structure was first introduced in Iowa in 1995, and has spread since then. There have been concerns that the mutual holding company conversion is disadvantageous for the owners of the company, the policyholders. The major disadvantage of mutual insurance companies is the difficulty of raising capital.What demutualization means for policyholders
Insure.com. January 28, 2003 In the

111th Congress The 111th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with th ...

, Carolyn Maloney sponsored a bill that she claimed would have protected mutual holding company owners. The measure, , died in committee. Mutual holding companies are one way to undergo privatization, also called

demutualization Demutualization is the process by which a customer-owned mutual organization (''mutual'') or co-operative changes legal form to a joint stock company. It is sometimes called stocking or privatization. As part of the demutualization process, member ...

List of mutual insurance companies

Multinational

* Association Internationale de la Mutualité

Bermuda

* Oil Insurance Limited

Canada

Denmark

* Tryg (owned 60% by the mutual company Tryghedsgruppen) * Lærerstandens Brandforsikring

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 * * 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 * Groupe Victor HUGO * La Maison du Fonctionnaire * La Mutuelle Catalane * 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 * * Mutualia * Mutuelle Générale * Harmonie Mutuelle* * MNT

Germany

Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Versicherungsvereine auf Gegenseitigkeit e.V.VERBAND DER VERSICHERUNGSVEREINE

Japan

* Asahi Mutual Life Insurance Company *

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company is a Japanese life insurance company, headquartered in Tokyo and created in 2004 from the merger of Meiji Life and Yasuda Life. The company is one of the oldest and largest insurers in Japan. The Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company is a memb ...

* Nippon Life Insurance Company * Sumitomo Life Insurance Company * Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Company

New Zealand

FMG Insurance FMG Insurance (formerly Farmers' Mutual Group) is a mutual insurance company in New Zealand that was established from a merger of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Association, Taranaki Farmers' Mutual Insurance Association and Primary Industries Ins ...

MAS

Philippines

* Insular Life

Slovenia

* Vzajemna

South Africa

* PPS (Professional Provident Society) * Iemas * AVBOB

Spain

* Mutua Madrileña

Sweden

* Alecta * Dina Försäkringar * Folksam * Länsförsäkringar * Skandia

United Kingdom

* Shepherds Friendly Society * The Equitable Life Assurance Society * NFU Mutual * Engage Mutual Assurance * Health Shield *

Royal London Group The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Limited, along with its subsidiaries, is the largest mutual insurer in the United Kingdom, with Group funds under management of over £150 billion. Group businesses provide around nine million polici ...

* Together Mutual Insurance * The Military Mutual * Scottish Friendly * UIA Mutual *

Liverpool Victoria Liverpool Victoria, trading since May 2007 as LV=, is one of the United Kingdom's largest insurance companies. It offers a range of insurance and retirement products. History The First Hundred Years The first known meeting of the Society was ...

United States

References

External links

NAMIC
– National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies
ICMIF
– International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation
AFM
– Association of Financial Mutuals (UK)

(USA)
University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives: Research on the Economic Impact of Cooperatives. Economic Impacts of Cooperatives › Financial Services > Mutual Insurance
{{Authority control Cooperatives Mutualism (movement) Types of insurance