AFM member key statistics for 2013
Each year we collect data from members, in order to provide an overview of the sector in the previous 12 months.
From the start of the financial crisis AFM members have enjoyed years of successful growth. There are a number of reasons for this:
- There is evidence that the poor behaviour of the banks has encouraged consumers to invest with more trusted providers such as mutuals;
- There has been renewed interest in products that minimise downside risks, such as with-profits;
- Some plc insurers have been more cautious on product pricing, as a result of expectations of higher capital requirements due to Solvency 2, and in response to the Retail Distribution Review.
The challenge for the mutual sector is therefore to move from being a safe pair of hands in the downturn, to dynamic and innovative challengers as the economy strengthens. The sector data for 2013 shows there has been mixed success in this.
Summary data for AFM members, for 31 December 2013, with 2012 figures in brackets:
Total assets under management / £121.1 billion (£94.7 billion)Gross premiums written / £10.1 billion (£10.3 billion)
Policies in force / 21 million (21 million)
Membership / 8.1 million (8 million)
Assets held by AFM members rose by 28% in 2013, and now exceed £100 billion for the first time. The majority of this increase reflects the acquisition by Royal London of the Co-operative’s life business.
The sale of its non-profits book by Marine and General had a more modest effect on assets, though from July NFU Mutual is no longer a member of AFM, so membership assets now stand at £107 billion. Taking these movements into account, organic growth in the sector ignoring this transaction was a more modest 5%.
Premiums written in the year were broadly static, and this marks a stalling in the double-digit growth of recent years. In this case, the transfer in of Coop business, and the loss of income from Marine and General broadly cancelled each other out, so the underlying trend is of a slightly more significant decline.
Some of the Child Trust Fund providers were the most significantly affected, where income was reduced by over £100 million in the year, though others were successful in transferring business into other lines. And returning to the earlier point about innovation, some of the AFM members with new product issues in 2013 enjoyed high levels of premium growth.
The overall mix of business across the sector for the year was 62% life and investments, 33% general insurance and 5% healthcare, and was broadly unchanged from 2012.
At the time of writing there was no published industry data for comparison, though in 2012 the market share of AFM members in 2012 was 6.4%.
The tables that follow two pages reinforce the level of concentration in the sector, with the largest five mutuals accounting for 87% of assets and 86% of premium income in 2013 (from 83% and 82% respectively at the end of 2012). Whilst we would expect that trend to continue, there are however some less familiar names in the mutuals that have grown most rapidly over the last three years.
Largest current AFM Members at the end of 2013, by asset size (£bn)
1 / Royal London Insurance Group / 64.122 / Liverpool Victoria / 12.40
3 / Equitable Life / 8.01
4 / Wesleyan Assurance Society / 5.62
5 / Marine and General / 2.53
6 / Reliance Mutual / 1.74
7 / Forester Life / 1.69
8 / Ecclesiastical / 1.46
9 / Family Investments / 1.17
10 / Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Ltd / 1.00
Largest current AFM Members at the end of 2013, by premiums (£m)
1 / Royal London Insurance Group / 4,136.002 / LV= / 2,317.00
3 / Ecclesiastical / 399.35
4 / Wesleyan Assurance Society / 297.00
5 / Forester Life / 197.57
6 / Family Investments / 196.07
7 / Police Mutual / 112.86
8 / Sunderland Marine Mutual Insurance Company / 92.45
9 / Benenden Healthcare Society Ltd / 84.09
10 / IPB Insurance / 73.80
Largest AFM Members at the end of 2013, by membership size
Members / Policyholders1 / Family Investments / 1,840,000 / 1,840,000
2 / LV= / 1,139,618 / 5,500,000
3 / Royal London Insurance Group / 562,012 / 4,000,000
4 / Benenden Healthcare Society Ltd / 405,204 / 1,000,000
5 / Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Ltd / 404,000 / 1,135,000
6 / Forester Life / 320,692 / 436,095
7 / The Oddfellows / 275,374 / 225,374
8 / Engage Mutual Assurance / 246,925 / 496,752
9 / Reliance Mutual / 206,000 / 209,000
10 / Police Mutual / 184,563 / 184,563
Most rapidly growing members over last year, by change in assets
assets (£M) / growth1 / Forester Life / 1,688 / 171%
2 / Royal London Insurance Group / 64,124 / 161%
3 / Kingston Unity Friendly Society / 79 / 131%
4 / Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Ltd / 1,002 / 122%
5 / Sheffield Mutual Friendly Society / 68 / 119%
6 / Benenden Healthcare Society Ltd / 107 / 117%
7 / Sovereign Health Care / 55 / 114%
8 / Red Rose Friendly Society Ltd / 22 / 113%
9 / Healthy Investment / 90 / 112%
10 / Dentists Provident Society / 213 / 111%
Most rapidly growing members over last year, by change in premiums
premiums (£s) / growth1 / Compass Friendly Society Limited / 61,947 / 221%
2 / Kingston Unity Friendly Society / 10,633,974 / 191%
3 / Forester Life / 197,568,000 / 137%
4 / Royal London Insurance Group / 4,136,000,000 / 118%
5 / Benenden Healthcare Society Ltd / 84,090,000 / 117%
6 / Engage Mutual Assurance / 46,090,000 / 115%
7 / British Friendly Society Ltd / 5,071,294 / 113%
8 / Health Shield Friendly Society Limited / 27,282,572 / 109%
9 / Police Mutual / 112,856,000 / 108%
10 / PG Mutual / 2,666,459 / 108%
A comprehensive overview of AFM members’ financial position at the end of 2013 is availableon the AFM website, at