The share of the total European insurance market held by mutual and cooperative insurers has increased to a record high of 33.4%, according to the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation’s latest Mutual Market Share report, marking a 9.2 percentage-point increase from the first available market share figure (24.2%) recorded in 2007.
ICMIF’s European Mutual Market Share 2022 also finds European mutual insurers have significantly outperformed the total European insurance market in both short- and long-term comparisons of total, life, and non-life premium growth.
This follows a year (FY 2020) in which European mutual insurers collectively wrote EUR 469 billion in insurance premiums, consisting of EUR 200 billion in life business and EUR 268 billion in non-life business.
Shaun Tarbuck, Chief Executive of ICMIF, said: “The findings of the new European Mutual Market Share 2022 report are hugely encouraging and we can clearly see that the mutual and cooperative insurance sector in Europe is continuing to grow incredibly well, with European mutual insurers significantly outperforming the total insurance market in Europe in both short- and long -term comparisons.
“In 2022, ICMIF is celebrating its centenary year and to do so knowing that our sector is growing so well in Europe is an additional reason for us to celebrate,” Tarbuck concluded.
Great resilience in the face of the pandemic challenge
Grzegorz Buczkowski, President, Association of Mutual Insurers and Insurance Cooperatives in Europe (AMICE) said: “Europe’s mutual and cooperative insurers have shown great resilience in the face of the pandemic challenge. The results for Europe seen in this report show that even under the pandemic pressures, in 2020 mutual/cooperative insurers registered a much lower decrease in total premium income (-1.6%) compared to the significant decrease in insurance premiums across the total European insurance market (-6.7%).
Buczkowski concluded: “Local legal recognitions of the mutual insurance model are varied, often reflecting national characteristics and market developments over the years. This report clearly shows that irrespective of these local differences, the mutual/cooperative insurance model has a vital role both in individual countries and across Europe, empowering policyholders, offering diversity and competition in the marketplace, and providing economic stability across the region.”
The report was presented in June in Wiesbaden (Germany) at the 2022 AMICE Congress. It includes much more further information.
