ICMIF member PPS Mutual, Australia’s only retail life insurance mutual exclusively serving qualified professionals, is celebrating its tenth anniversary, marking a decade of growth, member value and mutual success.

Since launching in 2016, PPS Mutual has established itself as a leading specialist insurer for professionals including doctors, lawyers, engineers and dentists. Built on a mutual model that prioritises members rather than shareholders, the organisation has grown to more than 17,000 members and now manages AUD 131 million in in-force premiums.

A defining feature of PPS Mutual’s approach is its annual Profit-Share programme, through which profits are allocated to members rather than external shareholders. The insurer has assigned profits to members every year since inception, with the Profit-Share pool growing almost sixfold over the past decade to reach AUD 15 million in FY2024-25.

Over ten years, PPS Mutual has also paid AUD 76 million in claims across life, trauma, income protection, total and permanent disability, and business expenses insurance. The organisation says its claims performance demonstrates the value of a model designed specifically around the needs of professional members.

Michael Pillemer, Chief Executive Officer of PPS Mutual, reflected on the milestone and the achievements of the mutual model in Australia.

“When we launched in Australia in 2016, the mutual model was largely unknown in the local life insurance market. We had to earn trust – from advisers, from Members, and from the broader industry.

“What the last ten years have shown is that when you build a business entirely around the interests of the people it serves, and back that with a product that genuinely delivers, people stay. They refer their colleagues. They see their Profit-Share Accounts grow. Through market volatility, a global pandemic, and significant regulatory change, we have shared our profits with Members every year since inception. That consistency is the clearest signal that the model works.”

PPS Mutual’s member-focused approach is also reflected in its retention rates. For the 12 months to December 2025, the mutual reported an annual lapse rate of 5.4%, significantly below the Australian retail life insurance industry average of 14.3%. The company has maintained the lowest lapse rate in the Australian retail life insurance market for ten consecutive years.

The mutual distributes its products through a network of more than 2,000 accredited independent financial advisers and has been recognised by advisers across the industry. PPS Mutual was named Best Retail Life Insurer by Adviser Ratings for three consecutive years from 2023 to 2025 and achieved an adviser Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 54.8, compared to an industry average of 9.5.

Beyond its own membership, PPS Mutual continues to invest in the wider professional and insurance communities through sponsorships, industry education initiatives and charitable partnerships. In 2025, it launched the inaugural Risk Practice of the Year Award, recognising advice practices helping to build a stronger and more sustainable future for life insurance in Australia.

Leadership stability has also played an important role in the mutual’s success. Michael Pillemer has served as Chief Executive Officer since the organisation’s Australian launch, while the senior management team has remained largely unchanged throughout the company’s first decade.

PPS Mutual is backed by fellow ICMIF member PPS South Africa, one of the world’s largest and most established mutual organisations serving graduate professionals. With more than 80 years of mutual insurance experience, PPS South Africa has assigned over USD 3 billion in profit share to its members during the past decade, providing a strong foundation for the Australian business.

Looking ahead, PPS Mutual says it remains focused on expanding its reach among Australian professionals while continuing to deliver on the principles that have underpinned its success during its first ten years: member ownership, long-term value creation and putting members first.