Report reveals growth across global market as consumer behaviour changes since the financial crisis
Global market share for mutual and co-operative insurers is on the rise – but not in Canada.
That’s the verdict of a new report from the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) which reports that global market share has leapt from 23.7 per cent in 2007 to 27.0 per cent in 2014. According to the market share report, the sector has been steadily gaining ground since the financial crisis with premium income also rising by 30 per cent over the period. By contrast, the total insurance market was only able to rise by 13.6 per cent during the same period.
However, the situation in Canada bucked the overall trend.
Here, co-operative and mutual insurers boasted a market share of 19.1 per cent in 2014 – but this was a slip from 19.5 per cent in 2013. This marks the first loss in the Canadian market since the financial crisis. Overall, the market is still well up from 2007, however, when it stood at 16.4 per cent. The life insurance market in Canada has been particularly successful: increasing from 13.2 per cent in 2007 to 18.3 per cent in 2014.
Commenting on the report, Shaun Tarbuck, CEO of the ICMIF said: “There has been a shift in consumers’ buying behaviour since the financial crisis, and this has given the mutual and cooperative insurance model a competitive advantage against shareholder-owned insurance companies. Also, mutual and cooperative insurers benefit from a long term perspective and can be run to protect the interest of the business and its customers, unlike joint-stock companies, which are under pressure to generate short-term profits for external shareholders.”
That’s the verdict of a new report from the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) which reports that global market share has leapt from 23.7 per cent in 2007 to 27.0 per cent in 2014. According to the market share report, the sector has been steadily gaining ground since the financial crisis with premium income also rising by 30 per cent over the period. By contrast, the total insurance market was only able to rise by 13.6 per cent during the same period.
However, the situation in Canada bucked the overall trend.
Here, co-operative and mutual insurers boasted a market share of 19.1 per cent in 2014 – but this was a slip from 19.5 per cent in 2013. This marks the first loss in the Canadian market since the financial crisis. Overall, the market is still well up from 2007, however, when it stood at 16.4 per cent. The life insurance market in Canada has been particularly successful: increasing from 13.2 per cent in 2007 to 18.3 per cent in 2014.
Commenting on the report, Shaun Tarbuck, CEO of the ICMIF said: “There has been a shift in consumers’ buying behaviour since the financial crisis, and this has given the mutual and cooperative insurance model a competitive advantage against shareholder-owned insurance companies. Also, mutual and cooperative insurers benefit from a long term perspective and can be run to protect the interest of the business and its customers, unlike joint-stock companies, which are under pressure to generate short-term profits for external shareholders.”
