In March 2025, we reported that Brazil had taken a significant step toward expanding its insurance sector with the introduction of Complementary Law No. 213/2025. The new legislation grants insurance cooperatives greater operational freedom, setting the stage for a more dynamic and inclusive market. Thank you to Helton Freitas, President, Seguros Unimed (Brazil) for his permission to publish the below article as a guest blog for the benefit of other ICMIF members. The article was originally published on LinkedIn.
I have been involved in cooperatives since 1987, and over the decades, I have seen how this model has the potential to transform entire sectors, promoting inclusion and access to essential services. Since 1967, cooperatives in the medical sector have revolutionised medicine in Brazil, bringing significant innovations to regions where treatments and procedures were previously unavailable. Now, the country has the opportunity to replicate this successful model in the insurance sector. With the recent approval of Complementary Law 213/2025, which regulates the operation of insurance cooperatives, Brazil is preparing for a new phase of expansion and democratisation in this sector.
The new law allows the creation of insurance cooperatives, opening up new possibilities for the inclusion of millions of Brazilians in this market. It is worth noting that Brazil was one of the few countries where cooperatives had not been authorised to provide multiple classes of insurance.
According to the National Confederation of Insurance Companies (Confederação Nacional das Seguradoras, or CNseg), the insurance sector is expected to grow by 10.1 per cent by 2025, in line with a projection that its share of GDP will rise to 10 per cent by 2030. This expands the opportunities for inclusion for more Brazilians, especially through cooperatives.
Just as in the health sector, where the Unimed System — the world’s largest medical cooperative system — holds 38% of the market, cooperatives will allow more families to access insurance protection for their lives and assets.
The International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF), an organisation that represents more than 200 cooperatives and mutuals in 61 countries, has been advocating for the inclusion of cooperatives in insurance laws for more than a decade. The ICMIF Global Mutual Market Share 2024 report reveals that, in 2022, global members achieved insurance premiums of more than USD 1.41 trillion and held total assets of USD 10 trillion. These figures demonstrate the significant presence of cooperatives and mutuals in the global market, with a 26.3% share of the total market — rising to 30.1% when excluding China, where mutual penetration is limited.
Insurance is essentially a long-term investment, and this concept becomes even more relevant in the face of Brazil’s ageing population. With the birth rate falling and life expectancy rising, it is becoming increasingly important for Brazilians to understand the value of planning for the future safely, through life, health and pension insurance.
Property protection should be seen as a fundamental part of this planning. Unexpected events, such as fires, floods, and storms intensified by climate change, can jeopardise years of effort and savings. However, many people still don’t recognise the need to adopt these protection tools, which can be attributed to a lack of financial education.
A FenaPrevi survey carried out by Datafolha reveals that one of Brazilians’ main fears is leaving their family without financial resources in the event of illness or death. However, only 18% of respondents have life insurance.
Curiously, 90% of people recognise that spending on superfluous items should not take priority over having life insurance — which highlights the disconnect between perception and practice.
This contradiction is reflected in the growing interest in risky alternatives such as betting, which promise quick wins. Although these options can generate immediate returns, they are extremely volatile and can result in considerable financial losses — revealing a lack of understanding of the value of more solid and long-lasting investments, such as pensions and capitalisation.
Insurance cooperatives, with their model focused on collective well-being and close relationships with their members, have the potential to transform the way Brazilians perceive financial security. Because they don’t have external investors, they are able to prioritise the interests of their members, offering solutions that are better adapted to the population’s needs.
This change represents a milestone for the sector, boosting the supply of new products, expanding competition, and providing millions of Brazilians with more opportunities for protection. Consumers will also be able to count on regulations from the Superintendent of Private Insurance (Superintendência de Seguros Privados, or SUSEP), which will bring more security to the market.
The new regulation of insurance cooperatives paves the way for strengthening the principles of cooperativism. And there is no more symbolic moment for this transformation than 2025, the International Year of Cooperatives, established by the United Nations — a global recognition of the positive impact that this business model can have on the economy and society.
