We're a mutual, we only work for you
UK financial organisations are all authorised and regulated by
the Financial Services Authority and are either 'mutuals' or public
limited companies (PLCs). Mutual organisations are not owned by
external sharedholders (like a PLC) but work for, and only answer
to customers like you.
The Association of Mutual Insurers exists to communicate why a
mutual could be a better choice for many people.
Experience & scale - Mutuals typically have
over 100 years of experience and heritage in financial services
(and some have been around a lot longer). They manage over £77 bn
in assets and have more than 19 million customers.
Trust - The managers of mutuals are only
responsible to customers like you, and not to shareholders.
Research also shows that on average mutual customers are more
likely to recommend a mutual organisation than a PLC.
Greater potential value - Research by AMI shows
that in 2007 PLC insurers paid out on average 3.1p to shareholders
for every £1 invested by their customers. With no shareholders to
pay, mutual insurers can ensure that their profits are only
distributed to customers like you, or reinvested to give you better
returns, better value and higher levels of service.
Better service - With higher levels of customer
satisfaction according to independent surveys, staff in mutuals
seem to want to try that bit harder when their customers can also
be the owners of the organisation they work for.
To find out more go to www.ownedbyyou.org
Source: Association of Mutual Insurers
March 2009
