This blog is the ICMIF Chair report from Rob Wesseling, also President and CEO at Co-operators (Canada), and is taken from the new ICMIF Member Impact Report (published October 2024).  The Member Impact report highlights the impact that ICMIF’s member proposition has achieved during the last two years and includes testimonials from member organisations. 

As an organisation, ICMIF provides its members with a distinct opportunity to address common priorities, gain a global perspective, and collaborate on solutions that can both help its members’ grow and also leverage our collective strength to truly make a difference.

Given the complexities of today’s global landscape, being part of ICMIF’s community has become increasingly important. As an ICMIF member, you are part of a unique, trusted network of leaders and organisations that lean in to offer their support to help enable better-performing businesses, driven by their purpose and desire to make a meaningful impact.

Following the celebration of the ICMIF Centenary in 2022, the Federation began to implement its next strategic plan to ensure it remains relevant as a membership association for the next 100 years (and beyond).

Over the past two years, the Federation has facilitated more opportunities for members to connect and share knowledge; more opportunities for members to broaden and deepen their expertise; and more opportunities for members to collaborate and enhance the resilience of the communities we serve.

As well as increasing the value it provides its members, ICMIF has managed to maintain a robust financial performance over the past two years, despite the recent economic headwinds; an imperative to ensuring the long-term financial and operational sustainability of the Federation.

Leading with purpose and impact

During the ICMIF Centenary Conference in October 2022, ICMIF launched its new four-year business strategy, which was underpinned by new purpose, vision and mission statements.

ICMIF’s higher purpose: Creating a safer, more resilient world

ICMIF’s vision: Inclusive resilience through protection, prevention and influence

ICMIF’s mission: To inspire and assist members to build and sustain a purpose-led, resilient future

The 2023-2026 strategy, Leading with purpose and impact represented an evolution from the previous strategic cycle to build on its successes and competencies, but with a focus on aligning with our refreshed purpose and maximising our impact. This has guided the Federation’s priorities over the past two years and will continue to do so for the remaining two years of this strategy cycle.

Connecting mutuals globally

ICMIF has continued to expand its membership, attracting new member organisations into its network and reporting record engagement levels from existing members.

It has further developed its membership value proposition with the aim of more effectively helping its member organisations achieve their strategic goals and sustainably grow in their local markets by leveraging the knowledge, competencies and experience of ICMIF’s global network.

This provides members with a unique opportunity to connect and interact with other similar organisations that have been successful in key areas. That is around how they leverage their mutuality or cooperative identity; how they are embracing transformation to adapt for the future; and how they embed sustainable business practices to build resilience.

The incredible value of these connections is that members are willing to share information and experiences with each other (usually in a non-compete environment), fostering a real depth of strategic knowledge exchange within an open and trusted network.

Additionally, ICMIF has curated strategic insights and case studies, which provides members with access to a wide breadth of diverse members’ best practices and learnings. Delivered across various platforms, this then helps them to respond to emerging trends and overcome business challenges.

The ICMIF team’s passion for excellence in its approach to member engagement ensures members receive a tailored service aligned to their strategic priorities and capacity.

Strengthening resilience through collaboration

ICMIF members are part of a global community committed to sustainable growth and responsible investing. The Federation’s most recent research shows member organisations manage over USD 1 trillion in assets, which are aligned with sustainable investment frameworks. This is an increase of more than a third over the previous two years.

From this increasingly influential base, we have been able to demonstrate the actionable impact of the mutual/cooperative business model in industry and stakeholder groups. Our established external partnerships remain fruitful and provide our sector with a tangible ability to catalyse positive change in the face of the world’s most pressing challenges.

The growth of the partnership with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) especially shows how ICMIF members are collectively working together to address gaps in disaster risk reduction financing and to embed proactive risk reduction measures into insurance practices, shifting the focus from post-disaster response to prevention.

The ICMIF Foundation continues to play a vital role in supporting vulnerable communities and fostering resilience. This work aligns with the values of member organisations, emphasising the importance of investing in resilient communities. Initiatives, such as the recently-launched Insurance Innovation Challenge (IIC) in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), ICMIF members contribute to a broader mission of mutual support and community well-being.

ICMIF’s leadership transition

As we look ahead to November 2024 and the upcoming ICMIF Biennial Conference that month, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge a significant leadership transition within the Federation. After almost 30 years of dedicated service to ICMIF, and 19 years as Chief Executive, Shaun Tarbuck will retire as CEO following the Conference in Buenos Aires. Under Shaun’s strong leadership, ICMIF has grown remarkably, expanding from 65 member companies in 1995 to over 200 today, and establishing a prominent global reputation and influence in the global insurance sector.

In July 2023, it was announced that the ICMIF Board had unanimously agreed to appoint Liz Green as the next Chief Executive of ICMIF, and the third CEO in the Federation’s history. Liz joined ICMIF in 2012 and has worked closely with Shaun since then in a number of increasingly senior roles, most recently as Executive Vice-President. After this announcement, Liz took on a new role as CEO Designate and will formally assume the role of CEO of ICMIF in November 2024.

I am confident that Liz’s experience and dedication will guide us through this leadership transition smoothly and the Federation will continue to build on its successes. We will be fortunate to have Shaun remain with ICMIF in an advisory and ambassadorial role to support Liz and ensure continuity in our global influence and impact work.

Continuing our journey together

As I reflect on my first two years as ICMIF Chair and at the mid-point of our current four-year strategy, I am proud of the achievements of the Federation and its efforts to create the opportunities to inspire and assist its membership to lead, innovate and collaborate for a purpose-led and resilient future.

It has been an honour to serve as ICMIF Chair for the first two years of my term, and I look forward to continuing to work with other members of the ICMIF Board and Committees, the ICMIF Secretariat, partner organisations, other external stakeholders, and most importantly – all of our member organisations from across the globe – as we collectively embark on the next steps of our journey towards creating a safer, more resilient world.