A mutual insurance company is an

insurance 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 ...

company owned entirely by its

policyholder 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 ...

s. Any profits earned by a mutual insurance company are either retained within the company or rebated to policyholders in the form of

dividend A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, it is able to pay a portion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Any amount not distributed is taken to be re-i ...

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 ...

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 Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...

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 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 ...

. 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 Carolyn Jane Maloney (née Bosher, February 19, 1946) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2013, and for from 1993 to 2013. The district includes most of Manhattan's East Side, Astoria and Long Island City ...

sponsored a bill that she claimed would have protected mutual holding company owners. The measure, , died in committee. Mutual

holding companies A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other 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 MACIF (Mutuelle assurance des commerçants et industriels de France et des cadres et des salariés de l'industrie et du commerce) is a French mutual insurance company. It was founded in 1960 in Niort Niort (; Poitevin: ''Niàu''; oc, Niòrt ...

* * Matmut * MAAF *

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incor ...

* 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 Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

* 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 Co is a Japanese insurance company, headquartered in Tokyo. The company was founded in 1888 and is, today, one of the oldest and largest insurers in Japan. Asahi Mutual Life Insurance is a member of the Mizuho keiretsu A is a set of comp ...

mpany *

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 The Insular Life Assurance Company, Ltd. (commonly known by its trade name, Insular Life, and shortened as InLife) is a mutual life insurance company in the Philippines. Established on November 25, 1910 in Manila, it is the first Filipino life in ...

Slovenia

* Vzajemna

South Africa

* PPS (Professional Provident Society) * Iemas * AVBOB

Spain

Mutua Madrileña Mutua Madrileña, S.A. also known as La Mutua, is by its joint venture with Vida Caixa, the largest Spanish insurance company as both Vida Caixa and Mutua Madrileña occupy the first and third position (respectively) of the Spanish Insurance Comp ...

Sweden

* Alecta * Dina Försäkringar *

Folksam Folksam is one of the largest insurance 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 ...

* Länsförsäkringar *

Skandia Skandia is a financial services corporation in Sweden. History Skandia started out as a Swedish insurance company in 1855. Today the brand operates in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Skandia also operates an internet bank called Skan ...

United Kingdom

Shepherds Friendly Society Shepherds Friendly Society is a UK friendly society and one of the oldest mutual insurers in the world. It is an incorporated society in the United Kingdom within the meaning of the Friendly Societies Act 1992. It has over 100,000 members. Hist ...

* The Equitable Life Assurance Society *

NFU Mutual NFU Mutual (NFUM) is a UK insurance composite, its directors and executives are directly answerable to customers/ policyholders (who own the business) for conduct of business as NFUM is and mutual and so has no shareholders to hold it to ac ...

* 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 UIA (Insurance) Limited is a mutual insurance company in the United Kingdom, providing general insurance products to members of the trade union movement and other not-for-profit organisations. It is a member of the Association of British Insurers ...

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