Mutual of Omaha Insurance Co. has announced plans to reorganize under a mutual holding company structure owned by policyholders, a move the company said would improve access to debt markets without altering its mutual ownership model.
According to a supplemental note in its 2024 financial statement, the company’s board of directors approved the reorganization plan last month. Under the proposal, Mutual of Omaha would become a stock insurer, with its shares held indirectly by a newly formed Mutual of Omaha Holding Co.
The company said the reorganization is contingent on approval by at least two-thirds of eligible voting members, either in person or by proxy at a future meeting.
United of Omaha Life Insurance Co, a stock insurer and subsidiary of Mutual of Omaha, would remain wholly owned under the new structure.
In a report from AM Best, a company spokesperson said that Mutual of Omaha is working toward a policyholder vote scheduled for March 2026. The company emphasized that the plan does not constitute demutualization and that there are no plans to issue stock or bring in external shareholders.
"It is important to understand that this is not a demutualization or a step toward demutualization, and there is no plan to issue stock or to bring in external shareholders," the company said. "While a mutual holding company structure provides access to new and more economical debt markets, we are not required to access them if debt market conditions are unfavorable."
The spokesperson said that the proposed structure would allow the company to maintain its "mutuality, customer focus and culture." The plan is also not expected to be impacted by current market fluctuations, including those linked to US tariffs.
Mutual of Omaha, founded in 1909, serves more than 5.6 million individual product customers and 18.1 million members across 54,000 employer groups. The company offers insurance and financial services in all 50 states.
As of 2024, the United States is home to a substantial number of mutual insurance companies. The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) represents nearly 1,500 member companies, including seven of the top 10 property/casualty insurers in the country.
The combined ratio for mutual insurers in the second quarter of 2024 was 103.6, an improvement from 113.7 during the same period in 2023. This suggests enhanced underwriting performance and operational efficiency.
Additionally, policyholders' surplus at the end of 2023 for the US property/casualty mutual segment was just under $400 billion, reflecting growth from the previous year. This increase was largely driven by a rebound in the equity market, contributing to unrealized capital gains of over $18 billion from 2022 to 2023.
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