In this blog, Jonathan Zhao, Global Insurance Leader of ICMIF Supporting Member EY, and Ben Telfer, Chief Membership Officer, ICMIF, discuss how mutual and cooperative insurers can strengthen their differentiation and drive purposeful growth in a rapidly changing insurance landscape. The blog draws on insights from the 2024 EY Global Mutual Insurance Market Scan, developed in partnership with ICMIF and launched at the 2024 ICMIF Biennial Conference in Buenos Aires (Argentina).
A sector defined by purpose
The mutual and cooperative insurance sector continues to set itself apart through its strong sense of purpose, deep community roots, and member-driven values. However, the environment in which mutuals operate is shifting rapidly. Rising costs, regulatory pressures, climate risks, and advancing technologies are creating both challenges and opportunities for insurers worldwide.
The EY Global Mutual Insurance Market Scan 2024 is a refresh of the four key principles of mutual differentiation, exploring how mutual/cooperative insurers can devise and operationalise purpose-led strategies as a means to differentiate their brands, win market share and accelerate growth.
Developed in partnership with ICMIF, insights were gathered from surveying executives from 100+ ICMIF member organisations and other mutual insurers around the world, plus face-to-face interviews with approximately 20 more mutual leaders.
The research shows that while mutuality remains a key competitive advantage, success now depends on how effectively mutuals operationalise their purpose, embrace innovation, and adapt to a more data-driven world. According to the research, 79% of mutual executives believe that mutuality will continue to provide a medium- to long-term competitive advantage over publicly listed insurers. This strong confidence underscores how purpose and community connection remain defining differentiators in today’s marketplace.
1. Prioritising purpose-led strategies
A defining strength of the mutual model is its focus on long-term value over short-term profit. In fact, 88% of surveyed mutuals said they prioritise a purpose-led strategy rooted in long-term thinking and value, over profitability. This focus enables mutuals to balance responsible growth with their founding missions.
In an era of declining trust in financial institutions, mutuals are ideally positioned to lead with authenticity. Purposeful leadership – through stable pricing, fair treatment of members, and long-term collaboration on issues such as climate resilience – reinforces trust and loyalty, which is further demonstrated through actions such as returning capital to members through loyalty discounts, premium reductions, profit-sharing, mutual bonus mechanisms and enhanced value proposition and community programmes.
To maintain financial strength alongside this mission, mutuals must invest in smarter risk selection, data-led underwriting, and personalised products that align profitability with purpose.
2. Deepening member engagement
Member ownership and participation remain at the heart of mutuality. Yet EY’s research indicates that, while many mutuals consider themselves member-centric, there is still room to innovate in how they engage and involve their members.
While 90% of executives describe their organisations as member- or customer-centric, interviews revealed that few have meaningfully innovated in their engagement models. This shows a significant opportunity for differentiation through stronger connection and communication – for example by optimising omnichannel customer journeys, improving digital self-service for efficiency and expanding ecosystems beyond traditional insurance offerings.
Mutuals can strengthen engagement by using digital tools to enhance two-way communication, making ownership benefits more visible, and linking engagement to tangible rewards or educational opportunities. This can be supported by initiatives such as identifying key member pain points and implementing voice-of-the-customer platforms to ensure feedback directly shapes service improvements
Greater participation not only reinforces trust and loyalty but also supports growth. Our research found a clear correlation between stronger member engagement and improved business performance – proving that mutuality can be both a social and commercial advantage.
3. Driving growth through innovation
Mutual insurers have long played a vital role in serving communities and protecting people’s livelihoods. Today, innovation is key to continuing that mission.
The research also found that mutuals investing in innovation and digital transformation report higher levels of member satisfaction and growth, underscoring the link between purpose-driven modernisation and performance.
Digitisation, personalisation, and the use of data insights can help mutuals design products that reflect members’ evolving needs. Technology also enables mutuals to prevent losses, provide faster claims handling, and offer more seamless service experiences.
Innovation can be both direct and indirect. For example, variable pricing can incentivise risk reduction and targeted investments can build resilience, while risk monitoring, early warning systems, collaboration on large-scale risks, awareness campaigns and advice provision can enhance local social capital.
By investing in innovation, mutuals can ensure their products and services remain relevant and meaningful, helping them to grow sustainably while staying true to their purpose.
4. Building resilience through technology and efficiency
Modernising core systems and embracing emerging technologies – such as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud platforms, and predictive analytics – is already an essential factor in how mutuals are (and will) strengthen agility and efficiency.
In terms of AI technologies, ICMIF’s own research in 2024 into the ways innovative ways our members are leveraging AI, found that 64% of ICMIF members surveyed were currently utilising AI, and more than 70% of members surveyed were currently investigating and/or intending to adopt some form of Generative AI technology (eg GPTs or LLMs) in the next 18 months.
These technologies can help mutuals better understand their members, process claims faster, and enhance underwriting accuracy. At the same time, careful cost management and streamlined operations will support long-term stability. Examples of such innovations include Internet of Things (IoT) and loss-prevention technologies, which can provide real-time insights to help reduce risk, build resilience and improve member satisfaction.
Technology must always serve people, helping mutuals deliver on their promise to members while reinforcing the personal touch that defines the sector.
A purposeful and profitable future
Despite the complexity of today’s market, the outlook for the mutual and cooperative insurance sector is strong. The defining principles of mutuality: purpose, member ownership, innovation, and community, continue to provide a powerful foundation for success.
The 2024 study confirms that nearly eight in ten mutual executives see long-term sustainability and trust as key sources of competitive advantage: a clear signal that mutuals are positioning for growth by leaning into their values.
By combining these values with strategic investment in technology, data, and talent, mutuals can transform their heritage into a forward-looking advantage, thereby serving members more effectively and shaping a more sustainable and inclusive insurance future.
EY’s purpose of building a better working world aligns closely with ICMIF’s mission to strengthen the global mutual and cooperative insurance sector. Together, we believe mutuals can leverage their unique principles to drive purposeful growth and lasting member value in a dynamic world.
