A mutual insurance company is an insurance company owned entirely by its policyholders. It is a form of consumers' co-operative. Any profits earned by a mutual insurance company are either retained within the company or rebated to policyholders in the form of dividend distributions or reduced future premiums. In contrast, a stock insurance company is owned by investors who have purchased company stock; any profits generated by a stock insurance company are distributed to the investors without necessarily benefiting the policyholders.

History

The concept of mutual insurance originated in England in the late 17th century to cover losses due to fire. The mutual/casualty insurance industry began in the United States in 1752 when Benjamin Franklin established the Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses From Loss by Fire. Mutual property/casualty insurance companies exist now in nearly every country around the globe. The global trade association for the industry, the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation, claims 216 members in 74 countries, in turn representing over 400 insurers. In North America the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), founded in 1895, is the sole representative of U.S. and Canadian mutual insurance companies in the areas of advocacy and education.

Recent developments in the United States

The "mutual holding company" structure was first introduced in Iowa in 1995, and has spread since then. There have been concerns that the mutual holding company conversion is disadvantageous for the owners of the company, the policyholders. The major disadvantage of mutual insurance companies is the difficulty of raising capital. In the 111th Congress, Carolyn Maloney sponsored a bill that she claimed would have protected mutual holding company owners. The measure,, died in committee. Mutual holding companies are one way to undergo privatization, also called demutualization.

List of mutual insurance companies

Multinational

Bermuda

Canada

• Algoma Mutual Insurance Company • Amherst Island Mutual Insurance Company • Antigonish Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company • Ayr Farmers Mutual Insurance Company • Bay of Quinte Mutual Insurance Company • Beneva insurance • Bertie & Clinton Mutual Insurance Company • Brant Mutual Insurance Company • Caradoc Delaware Mutual Insurance Company • Carleton Mutual Insurance Company • Cayuga Mutual Insurance Company • Clare Mutual Insurance Company • The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group • Dufferin Mutual Insurance Company • Dumfries Mutual Insurance Company • Edge Mutual Insurance Company • The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada • Erie Mutual Insurance Company • Fundy Mutual Insurance Company • Germania Mutual Insurance Company • Germania Mutual Insurance Company Saskatchewan • Gore Mutual Insurance Company • Grenville Mutual Insurance Company • Halwell Mutual Insurance Company • Hay Mutual Insurance Company • Heartland Farm Mutual (formerly North Waterloo & Oxford) • Howard Mutual Insurance Company • Howick Mutual Insurance Company • HTM Insurance Company • Kent & Essex Mutual Insurance Company • The Kings Mutual Insurance Company • Lambton Mutual Insurance Company • L&A Mutual Insurance Company • MAX Canada Insurance Company • McKillop Mutual Insurance Company • My Mutual Insurance • Mennonite Mutual Insurance Company (Alberta) Ltd. • Middlesex Mutual Insurance Company • The Mutual Fire Insurance Company of British Columbia • Norfolk Mutual Insurance Company • North Blenheim Mutual Insurance Company • North Kent Mutual Insurance Company • Peel Mutual Insurance Company • PEI Mutual Insurance Company • Pictou County Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company • Portage la Prairie Mutual Insurance Company • Promutuel Mutual Insurance Company • Red River Mutual Insurance • Saskatchewan Mutual Insurance Company • SouthEastern Mutual Insurance Company • South Easthope Mutual Insurance Company • Stanley Mutual Insurance Company • Town & Country Mutual Insurance Company • Townsend Mutual Insurance Company • Tradition Mutual Insurance Company • Trillium Mutual Insurance Company • United General Insurance Corporation • Usborne & Hibbert Mutual Insurance Company • Wabisa Mutual Insurance Company • Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company • West Elgin Mutual Insurance Compa • Westminster Mutual Insurance Company • West Wawanosh Mutual Insurance Company • Yarmouth Mutual Insurance Company

Denmark

Faroe Islands

Finland

France

General Mutual insurance companies Health insurance companies

Germany

Japan

New Zealand

Philippines

Slovenia

South Africa

Spain

Sweden

United Kingdom

United States

• Acacia Life Insurance Company • Acuity Insurance • AEGIS Limited • American Family Insurance • Ameritas Life Insurance Company • Amica Mutual Insurance Company • Assurity Life Insurance Company • Auto-Owners Insurance • Some Blue Cross Blue Shield Association affiliated companies (except Elevance Health, formerly known as Anthem). • Central Mutual Insurance Company • Commonwealth Mutual Insurance Company of America • Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance • Co-operative Insurance Companies • COUNTRY Financial • CUNA Mutual Group • Employers Mutual Casualty Company • Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa • FM Global (Factory Mutual Insurance Company) • Grange Insurance Association • Georgia Farm Bureau Federation • Grange Mutual Casualty Company • Greater New York Mutual Insurance Companies • Grinnell Mutual • Guardian Life • Health Care Service Corporation (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas) • Lafayette Life • Liberty Mutual • Maple Valley Mutual Insurance • Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company • Medical Mutual of Ohio • Mennonite Mutual Insurance Company • Minnesota Lawyers Mutual Insurance Company • Minnesota Mutual Companies, Inc. • Missouri Employers Mutual • Mutual Benefit Life Insurance • Mutual of America • Mutual of Omaha • National Life Group • Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company • New England Life • NYCM Insurance • New York Life • NJM Insurance Group • The Norfolk & Dedham Group • Noridian Mutual Insurance Company • Northwestern Mutual • Ohio National Life Insurance Company • OneAmerica Financial Partners, Inc. • Pacific Life Insurance Company • PEMCO • Penn Mutual • Pure • Sawgrass Mutual Insurance Company • Security Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York • Sentry Insurance • SFM Mutual Insurance Companies • Shelter Insurance • State Farm Insurance • UNIFI Companies • Union Central Life Insurance Company • West Bend Mutual Insurance Company • Wisconsin Mutual Insurance Company • Western Mutual Insurance Group