The global mutual and cooperative sector collectively wrote USD 1.41 trillion in insurance premiums and increased the sector’s share of the total insurance market to an eight-year high of 26.3% in 2022, according to the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation’s latest Global Mutual Market Share report.

The ICMIF Global Mutual Market Share 2024 report aggregates financial and non-financial statistics for over 4,700 mutual, cooperative and member-owned insurers (hereafter referred to as “mutual”). With data collected over a 15-year period, this year’s report, compiled by ICMIF’s Business Intelligence team, highlights how the mutual and cooperative insurance sector performs against the rest of the global insurance market.

Key findings:

• Mutual insurers collectively wrote USD 1.41 trillion in insurance premiums in 2022 (2021: USD 1.42 trillion).
• Mutual insurers’ share of the global insurance market was 26.3% in 2022 (2021: 26.0%).
• Excluding China, the second-largest insurance market in the world with negligible mutual penetration (0.2% market share), the mutual sector’s global market share stood at 30.1% in 2022.
• In developed insurance markets, the mutual sector held a 32.5% market share in 2022, whilst in emerging markets, that share stood at 2.7%.
• Total assets held by the global mutual insurance sector in 2022 were USD 10.0 trillion.

The report includes analyses of the premium income, assets, investments, lines of business, number of employees, and number of members/policyholders of over 4,700 mutual and cooperative insurance companies operating across 80 countries and territories in 2022.

The report also looks at the greater (non-financial) impact that mutual insurers have across the world. It includes a number of case studies where mutuals have lived up to their reputation as being purpose-led, customer-centric and community-focused insurers, showcasing initiatives that have supported their policyholders (members), local communities, and wider society in 2022.

Rob Wesseling, ICMIF Chair and President & CEO, Co-operators (Canada) said: “This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the performance and market position of the cooperative and mutual insurance sector at a global and regional level, the only analysis of its kind in our sector.”

He continued: “Our sector, unshackled by some of the pressures and competitiveness that can often block cooperation and collaboration amongst primarily profit-driven companies, is uniquely positioned to benefit from this type of research, where we can showcase the strength of global cooperative and mutual insurers’ performance as a collective.”

“The resilience and success of the mutual and cooperative insurance model over the last fifteen years, as observed in this research, affirms its capability as a robust and sustainable alternative to conventional insurance models in 2024 and beyond, as the sector has been for the last hundred years and more,” Wesseling concluded.

Shaun Tarbuck, Chief Executive, ICMIF, commented “I am delighted to see ICMIF launch the latest edition of our Global Mutual Market Share report. The 2024 edition will give members a valuable update on the size and relevance of the global mutual and cooperative insurance sector. This year’s data for FY 2022 – the year the world emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic – provides the first indication of how our sector performed during the pandemic. We know the impact our sector had on the lives and livelihoods of billions of people across the world – but it’s hugely encouraging to see the strong financial performance of mutuals and also their growth compared to the rest of the insurance market.

Tarbuck added: “We have once again included a selection of case studies from ICMIF members and the wider mutual and cooperative insurance sector in this year’s report in order to demonstrate the social and community impact of our business model in a post-COVID world. In the context of ongoing other global challenges, including the protracted war in Ukraine and weak international economic development, we will continue to report on the performance of our sector and highlight how it continues to support policyholders, communities and societies in a way that differentiates itself from the rest of the insurance market.”