The mutual and cooperative insurance market significantly outpaced the growth of the total global insurance industry over the last 10 years, increasing its market share from 24.0% in 2007 to 26.7% in 2017.
This is according to the findings of a recent report by the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF), which tracked the growth of the sector during the 10-year period following the global financial crisis.
The ICMIF reported that the premium income of the global mutual and cooperative insurance market grew by a total of 30% over the decade, compared to 17% growth for the total global insurance industry.
In 2017, mutual and cooperative insurance companies served 922 million members/policyholders around the world, according to ICMIF data, representing a 13% growth since 2012.
The number of people employed by the sector also reached 1.16 million in 2017, the report found, representing a 24% growth since 2007.
“At this financially volatile time, as consumer trust, consumer spending and interest rates plummeted, the cooperative/mutual insurance sector began to emerge, even flourish, outperforming the insurance industry average and capturing more market share,” Hilde Vernaillen, Chair of ICMIF and CEO of Belgian cooperative insurer P&V Assurances, stated in the foreword to the report.
“Additional qualitative research carried out by ICMIF during this period suggests that this positive performance is linked to consumers’ preference for providers that can demonstrate characteristics most commonly associated with cooperatives and mutuals: trustworthiness, security and service excellence,” she continued.
The report, titled ‘Global Mutual Market Share 10,’ included analysis of the premium income, assets, investments, number of employees and number of members/policyholders of over 5,100 mutual and cooperative insurance companies in 77 countries.
“The Global Mutual Market Share report is an important tool for ICMIF to hold evidence-based discussions about the socio-economic importance of mutual/cooperative insurers with legislators, regulators and policymakers,” Vernaillen said.
“In emerging markets, where the lack of inclusive insurance impedes economic development, poverty reduction and disaster recovery, ICMIF continues its efforts to extend access to cooperative/mutual insurance,” she added. “In developed markets, ICMIF and its members can make use of this report to make the case for due consideration and equitable treatment of the sector.”
Shaun Tarbuck, Chief Executive of ICMIF, also commented: “Now that we have reached the 10 year anniversary of the onset of the global financial crisis, it is hugely encouraging to see that the mutual and cooperative insurance sector is continuing to grow, and at a faster rate than the rest of the industry.
“The growth in market share is very positive, but equally so is the growth in membership numbers and the number of people employed by our sector. The mutual sector grew at a faster rate between 2007 and 2017 than the rest of the industry in Europe, North America, Latin America and Africa.”
“Globally, over 5,100 mutual insurers collectively wrote USD 1.3 trillion in insurance premiums in 2017, the second highest level of premium volumes ever recorded by the mutual sector. Also, the mutual sector registered positive annual growth in nine of the previous 10 years since 2007,” Tarbuck concluded.
