The share of the total European insurance market held by mutual and cooperative insurers has increased to a third in 2022 from a quarter in 2007, according to the latest edition of the European Mutual Market Share report, released by the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) and the Association of Mutual Insurers and Insurance Cooperatives in Europe (AMICE).

The European Mutual Market Share 2023 also finds that European mutual insurers have outperformed the total European insurance market in terms of post-pandemic growth in premium volume.

Last year (financial year 2022), European mutual insurers collectively wrote a record high of EUR 509 billion in insurance premiums, consisting of EUR 220 billion in life business and EUR 288 billion in non-life business.

Key findings:

• European mutuals wrote a combined EUR 509 billion in insurance premiums in 2022 (2021: 502 billion).
• European mutuals’ market share of the European insurance market stood at 33.0% in 2022 (2021: 33.0%).
• The value of assets held by European mutual insurers stood at EUR 3.67 trillion in 2022.
• Over 487,000 people helped serve approximately 507 million member/policyholders.
• European mutuals exceeded the total European insurance market’s 10-year premium growth in total, life, and non-life business by 13.0, 18.0, and 6.4 percentage points, respectively.
• The value of assets and investments held by the European mutual insurance sector significantly outperformed that of those belonging to the region’s total insurance market in 2022.

The report, first presented at the ICMIF/AMICE Joint Insurance Stakeholders’ Dialogue held in Paris, France, in December 2023, also includes further life and non-life analyses, past years’ premium totals and market shares, a list of individual European countries’ local market shares and specific product line analysis.

Liz Green, CEO Designate, ICMIF presented the report at the AMICE/ICMIF 7th Insurance Stakeholders' Dialogue (6 December 2023) and said: “The mutual and cooperative insurance model’s positive performance in Europe is reflected in its premium income, which reached an all-time high of EUR 509 billion in 2022. In 11 of the last 15 years, the annual growth of the European mutual insurance sector exceeded that of the total European insurance market.

“The model’s success supports sustainable and inclusive economic development, promoting social cohesion and community development by encouraging member participation in decision-making, whilst providing employment opportunities for over 487,000 people in Europe in 2022,” Green concluded.