The mutuals detain a quarter of the insurance market in Europe

According to a study conducted by Amice (the association of mutual Insurers and cooperatives in Europe), Europe counts 6 000 insurers, 3 300 of whom are insurance mutuals or cooperatives. Endowed with 150 million customers, these mutuals or cooperatives detain 26% of the market shares. While their number is gradually falling, their market shares remain stable thanks to the merger among local players or to the absorption of small units by the larger ones. During the financial crisis, these market shares might have even tended to grow as the insured were attracted by this kind of operators. Solvency II rules, along with the important related capital requirements, may nonetheless strain these insurers whose financial resources are limited.