A colleague recently came into my office with a question. He’s from Wawanesa’s Corporate Compliance team and was looking to do some brainstorming. He wanted to know if I had any recommendations for existing working groups or knowledge sharing opportunities. Right away, I put him in touch with ICMIF.

The value that Wawanesa gets from our ICMIF membership has exceeded our expectations, with benefits we hadn’t considered when joining.

Provides access to industry expertise at a fraction of the cost

As a mutual insurance company, Wawanesa is always looking for ways to learn from our peers and improve our products and services for our members. That’s why we joined ICMIF in 2020, and the connections we’ve made since then have been transformative.

ICMIF has become an essential platform for our company to exchange knowledge, best practices, and insights on various topics, such as strategy, innovation, sustainability, member experience, transformation and more.

One of the benefits of being part of ICMIF is that we can connect with global mutual peers who have similar values and challenges as us. We can have open discussions about and get feedback on what works and what doesn’t from mutuals and cooperatives which have faced similar challenges. Everyone shows up wanting to share, creating an open environment for us to help other mutuals and for other mutuals to help us.

In the end, it’s like having access to industry experts who know mutuals through-and-through, all at a fraction of the cost.

Meeting with mutuals from around the globe

Wawanesa has made essential new connections through ICMIF.

We’ve hosted FMG Mutual, an insurer from New Zealand, PPS Mutual from South Africa, NFU Mutual from the UK, as well as Achmea, from the Netherlands. We went to the UK and Belgium and spent time with NFU Mutual, Royal London and P&V Group. We discussed strategy, core system transformations, planning, long-term metrics, value creation, member/broker experience, sustainability, farm trends and more. The conversations were open, honest, and valuable. We found many commonalities and gained insights that we’re now putting into action.

With all these meetings, ICMIF not only helped us find the right partners for our needs, but also supported us throughout the process of setting up and managing the meetings. ICMIF also provided us with access to a wealth of information and resources on various topics through their website, publications, webinars, roundtables, and events.

I also have the privilege of serving as the Vice Chair of ICMIF’s Intelligence Committee, which is a sub-committee of the ICMIF Board of Directors. The committee brings together strategy leaders from mutual and cooperative insurers across the world to guide ICMIF’s networking and knowledge building work. Meeting with that committee – hearing about emerging issues, best practices, and the experiences of fellow mutual insurers – has become one of the most rewarding parts of my work.

Mutuals helping mutuals

Through these connections with other mutual and cooperative insurers, we discovered we had a lot to offer each other, not only in terms of knowledge and insights, but also practical solutions and support. There is a friendly and supportive culture among members, while respecting boundaries if competing in the same market.

Being part of ICMIF is one of the best investments we have made as a mutual company. It has enabled us to learn from others who share our vision and values, to collaborate on projects that create value for our members and communities, and to contribute to a global movement that is making a positive difference in the world.

I’m going to keep recommending ICMIF to everyone who asks, and I hope that you and your organisation take ICMIF up on their offer to help.

Feel like you could benefit from connecting with a like-minded organisation within ICMIF’s global network to discuss a strategic issue you are facing…? Get in touch with ICMIF if you want to learn more about getting the maximum value from your membership, by contacting Ben Telfer, SVP, Membership, at [email protected].