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Established in 1922

Initially established in 1922 as the Insurance Committee of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) with a view to strengthening collaboration amongst cooperative and mutual insurers, ICMIF has grown over the years, significantly changing direction in 1972.

In that year ICMIF formed an independent Secretariat, simultaneously moving away from the ICA. A further strategic review of operations was undertaken by members in 1992 at which time the organisation was significantly restructured in order to align itself more closely with the changing needs of its members, with a focus on delivering business-related services.

Following the appointment of the current Chief Executive, Shaun Tarbuck, the activities of the Federation were again reviewed as a result of which a new six-point strategy has been implemented geared to delivering the Federation’s services to the members.

With just five member cooperative insurers when it was formed, today’s ICMIF has grown hugely, with significant numbers of new members joining in recent years. By 1993, when the present Secretariat was established, 75 organisations were members from 45 countries.

216 members

By 2009 this number has risen to 216 members with approximately one-third of the membership in Europe, a further third in the Americas and the remainder representing Asia and Oceania, Africa and the Middle East.
This individual membership in turn represents over 400 distinct insurance organisations with assets approaching USD 1 trillion. Spread across more than 70 countries, these organisations employ over 300,000 people.

A further 1,700 mutual insurers are indirect members of ICMIF through their national mutual trade associations. ICMIF can truly claim to be the voice of the world’s cooperative and mutual insurance sector.

ICMIF membership growth

Members by region

Members by legal status

Stock Companies and other organisations can be eligible for membership provided that the stock is predominantly owned by popularly-based organisations such as cooperatives or trade unions. Membership is focused on how an organisation operates for the benefit of its insureds and how it embraces the mutual and cooperative values rather than its legal definition—which can often be dictated by the fact that there are no cooperative or mutual insurance laws in their country.