In this article, ICMIF’s Chief Membership Officer, Ben Telfer, explores the top five themes that our members CEOs are experiencing and highlights how ICMIF’s trusted, global strategic peer network can support members in delivering sustainable growth, cautiously adopting new technologies, and making decisions anchored in long-term mutual value.
To better understand the themes and trends that are a strategic priority for ICMIF members, a key part of ICMIF’s approach to member engagement is regular conversations with CEOs across our global membership. This ensures we develop and continuously refine our member service proposition and shapes the agenda at our various leadership and networking events, including the upcoming ICMIF Biennial Conference, 3-6 November in Toronto (Canada).
From these recent conversations with member CEOs, five interconnected trends consistently emerge as top strategic priorities.
1. Responsible transformation driven by AI
Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation sit firmly at the top of CEO agendas. Leaders are actively exploring how AI can improve a range of insurance functions including underwriting, claims, service, distribution, and operational efficiency. Although, they do so whilst remaining mindful of the associated risks – something that came across strongly in ICMIF’s first AI survey of the membership.
The challenge, repeatedly highlighted by CEOs, is balance. Organisations are focused on scaling AI adoption responsibly, by embedding strong governance, ethical guardrails, transparency, and data discipline to protect member trust. Workforce implications are equally critical, with leaders prioritising reskilling and clear communication to manage anxiety and cultural disruption.
At the same time, CEOs are increasingly conscious of competitive threats. From AI-enabled disintermediation to new entrants, and a growing dependence on major technology providers which are driving both defensive and offensive strategies to protect relevance, deepen member relationships, and maintain influence in the value chain.
Collaboration with peers on AI use cases and ethics is seen as a key enabler of confident adoption – and therefore one of the reasons that ICMIF is hosting an AI Summit this May (see below).
2. Sustainable growth and market relevance in an uncertain world
Achieving growth remains firmly high on CEO agendas, but the environment surrounding that ambition looks very different today. Many mutual and cooperative insurers operate in mature or tightly constrained markets, where inflationary pressure, regulatory complexity, and geopolitical volatility are reshaping the operating landscape. The challenge is not simply to grow, but to balance purpose and commercial performance in a way that delivers meaningful impact while safeguarding long-term financial strength.
Leaders are concentrating on identifying sustainable growth opportunities that reinforce their mutual identity and resilience over time. Strategic portfolio decisions, product evolution, and selective expansion into new segments or geographies are all being filtered through the lens of relevance to members. Expectations around value, simplicity, and personalisation are rising, yet affordability and purpose remain non-negotiable, creating a constant need to reconcile member benefit with financial discipline.
At the same time, growth planning has become inseparable from risk management in order to navigate today’s uncertainty with greater rigour. CEOs are focusing on embedding scenario thinking, capital discipline, and sharper prioritisation into strategic decisions to build organisations that can withstand shocks while continuing to invest in member-focused innovation.
Competitive dynamics are also shifting. Slower market growth, changing customer behaviours, and pressure on margins are intensifying the need to differentiate through service, trust, and purpose-led propositions rather than price alone. As a result, leaders are taking a more deliberate approach to where and ho they compete, ensuring that growth strengthens rather than dilutes their competitive differentiation.
3. Focus on customer-centricity as distribution models evolve
The desire to shift from product-centric to genuinely customer/member-centric operating models continues to be a strategic focal point of CEOs across the membership. Leaders are focused on ensuring that products, services, and distribution strategies are shaped by the real and evolving needs of members, rather than by internal structures or traditional market segmentation.
As with growth ambitions, the central theme repeatedly highlighted by CEOs is balance. While member organisations are investing in digital and data-enabled engagement to enhance responsiveness, insight, and accessibility, they remain committed to preserving the personal human connection that underpins the trust largely enjoyed by mutual/cooperative insurers for centuries. As well as this, distribution approaches are being refined to meet expectations for convenience and seamless experiences, without eroding affordability or the value of intermediated advice and relationships.
Cultural alignment is seen as critical to making customer-centricity real. CEOs emphasise the need for clear metrics, consistent reinforcement, and active staff engagement to ensure that member focus is embedded in everyday behaviours and decision-making, not simply reflected in strategy documents. The aim is to build organisations where understanding and serving member needs is instinctive, measurable, and sustained over time.
4. Building resilient businesses through culture and leadership
As transformation agendas intensify, leadership and culture have moved to the centre of strategic focus. Member CEOs consistently highlight culture as a decisive enabler of performance, engagement, and successful change, particularly in environments characterised by uncertainty and rapid technological evolution.
Leaders are deliberately recalibrating culture to support digital transformation, stronger customer/member focus, and sustainable growth, while also addressing elements of workforce anxiety to geopolitical uncertainty and resistance to organisational change. Clear communication of purpose, values, and strategic direction was commonly viewed as essential to maintaining trust and alignment, as leaders recognise that how change is led is as important as what change is delivered.
Operational resilience is now firmly embedded within this leadership agenda. CEOs are strengthening preparedness for systemic shocks, cyber risks, and crisis scenarios, ensuring governance, risk management, and cultural behaviours reinforce one another. The objective is to build organisations that can adapt under pressure, protect members, and sustain confidence even in periods of disruption.
5. Embedding mutuality for long-term value creation
Perhaps unsurprising given ICMIF’s network of mutual, cooperative and member-owned insurers, mutuality remains a defining anchor for CEOs amid accelerating change. Leaders from across ICMIF’s global network consistently stress the importance of embedding mutual/cooperative principles into governance frameworks, strategic choices, risk appetite, and day-to-day decision-making, ensuring that mutual/cooperative identity is actively lived rather than passively referenced.
A long-term perspective distinguishes mutual/cooperative leadership. CEOs are balancing immediate operational and financial pressures with the need to deliver sustainable growth and resilience, prioritising decisions that create enduring value for members rather than short-term returns. Purpose is treated as a practical guide, influencing how risk is selected, products are designed, communities are supported, and success is measured.
Engagement with peers plays a crucial role in keeping mutuality tangible and relevant. Through dialogue with like-minded leaders at ICMIF events and networks, CEOs gain perspective, confidence, and practical ideas, reinforcing mutuality as both a source of organisational resilience and a basis for competitive differentiation. In this way, the principles at the heart of the mutual model continue to provide stability and direction in an increasingly complex environment.
How the ICMIF network can support leaders
To help members respond to these shared challenges, ICMIF provides structured opportunities for practical peer exchange, giving CEOs and senior leaders access to real-world experience from fellow mutual and cooperative insurers facing similar strategic priorities.
CEOs consistently tell us how much they value the depth of insight they gain through these trusted connections, and the unique insights that are difficult to access elsewhere.
Building on this, the ICMIF Biennial Conference serves as a central platform for knowledge sharing. With the five top trends guiding our thinking, the Toronto Conference agenda will explore strategic themes that unite members, examining how, amid intensifying global uncertainty and a rapidly evolving insurance landscape, mutual and cooperative insurers are future-proofing their organisations. While the full agenda will be released next month, we can already share that topics will include maintaining the relevance and competitiveness of the mutual model; driving growth in dynamic markets; building partnerships to expand into new segments; recalibrating culture to strengthen performance and customer-centricity; and enhancing operational resilience to address emerging risks and market pressures.
In response to CEOs’ increasing focus on AI and digital transformation, we are hosting our first AI Summit in London on 19 May. This one-day event will bring leaders together to share real-world applications, strengthen governance approaches, and build confidence in responsible, trust-based AI adoption.
To complement these in-person events, we are launching a new series of virtual roundtables in 2026 to bring together technology, data, and digital leaders to focus on the topic of business transformation, including modernising core platforms, managing legacy systems, leveraging digital tools, and implementing strategies to create efficient, future-ready organisations.
Alongside this, our virtual roundtables on mutual strategy offer practical forums for discussing how mutual and cooperative insurers define and execute strategic priorities, translate strategy into action, and embed purpose and values to create distinctive competitive advantage and long-term value. Complementing in-person events, ICMIF’s virtual networks and forums provide trusted, non-competitive spaces for leaders to share experience, discuss challenges, and exchange lessons learned.
With our Biennial Conference, our first AI Summit, and a robust programme of virtual engagement, we are incredibly excited about the year ahead. ICMIF aims to create value for its members, and their strategic priorities guide everything we do. This year’s full schedule of events will enable members to explore effective responses to the issues that matter most to them.
