The mutual insurance market occupies a unique place in the insurance sector. Founded with the sole purpose of providing its members with insurance coverage, the management teams of mutual insurance companies are selected by its members, with profits reinvested into the company or paid out to policyholders as a dividend. 
The sector is a thriving ecosystem containing several prominent companies, many of which operate globally and are well-regarded for their customer centricity, their commitment to specialism, and their championing of the power of expertise to create great insurance solutions. But, like any insurance market segment, it is subject to the whims of ever-changing market conditions, with players tasked with keeping an eye on emerging risks and opportunities, without losing sight of what’s impacting their businesses today.
In conversation with Insurance Business, Hugh Titcomb (pictured), CEO of Thomas Miller Group, shared insights into what’s shaping the market – and what it takes to thrive under these conditions. “There’s a lot of emphasis being placed on specialism and expertise in today’s environment,” he said, “and for Thomas Miller, the core activity of the group is to manage mutual insurance businesses. We manage eleven mutuals and it is important that we focus on the individual needs of each one.”
Some of the key challenges and opportunities facing the broader mutual insurance market include considerations around capital, regulatory and compliance requirements, competitive pressures, technological developments, members’ expectations, exposure to catastrophic risks and demutualization pressures. The key to navigating each of the challenges impacting the market comes down to a matter of partnership with the mutuals, according to Titcomb.
If you take shipping, for example, he said, the operating environment reflects a combination of macro factors, including political, economic and environmental considerations. Recent events around the world illustrate this very clearly.
“So, what does Thomas Miller do about these risks? These are things we think about on a day-to-day basis, and work with the boards of the mutuals we manage to provide practical solutions and thought leadership on how to tackle each particular issue. It comes down to providing the expertise needed to help each mutual manage its way through complex operating environments.”
Digging into the regulatory environment, he noted that you can either push against these pressures or you can embrace them – and for his team, the latter is always the right option. The demands of the regulators around the world have certainly increased, he said, with events such as Brexit adding further complexity. The answer for mutual insurers is to be innovative, to find solutions and to implement these as smoothly as possible.
It all comes back to the ability to be innovative and dynamic, he said. The last year has been an especially dynamic one for the group, which recently announced the re-branding of one of the MGA businesses it owns under the Navata brand. For Titcomb, the challenge – and the exciting part of his role – is working out how to balance growth with maintaining the right internal and external culture.
“For me, it has been about embracing new ways of working, new ideas and new people coming on board while maintaining the [heart] of the mutual management model. I think, fundamentally, it's about having the right values and making sure that you live by them.”
