ROAM (Réunion des Organismes d’Assurance Mutuelle)
An Association at the service of mutual insurance companies for more that 150 years.
Created in 1855
by a group of directors of mutual insurance companies in order to hold exchanges
regarding their status as mutual organisations and to defend the provision of
insurance services in the mutual form, as an alternative to joint-stock companies.
Today, this professional French association brings together
46 companies
all of whom are subject to the regulations of the Insurance Code and to the supervision
of the ACAM (Insurance Supervisory Authority in France).
ROAM gathers mutual insurance companies who:
- Are affinity groups based (in sectors such as builders, doctors/medical staff, bakers etc…)
- Operate at a regional or national level
- Provide general insurance services (P&C and/or life insurance)
- Are specialised in a certain risk category (pensions, professional liability, hail...)
- work with or without brokers who work on a commission basis
What is a Mutual Insurance Company (MIC)?
An MIC is an insurance company that does not have its capital divided into shares,
is collectively managed by it policyholders who are also its members and which acts in their best interests.
Features of an MIC:
- Created solely at the initiative of its first members (who are also its first customers)
- Does not have a capital stock and therefore has no shareholders to remunerate
- Its only motivation to develop is to provide the best service at the best cost to its members
- There is no conflict of interest between the shareholders, employees, customers and management
-
Strikes a balance between the social consideration of its employees and its members,
both of whom are equally interested in the survival and development of the MIC
ROAM’s actions
ROAM takes a proactive role, at both the national and international level,
to defend the model of mutual insurance and, more specifically, the general interests
of the small and medium-sized mutual insurance companies which continue to maintain a
very close link with their original mutual principles.
At the international level
ROAM plays an important role at the international level:
-
It is a direct member of AMICE at the European level and its members participate
in many of the working groups organised by
AMICE
(Solvency II, European Mutual, European Affairs, etc). ROAM has also assumed
responsibility for the coordination of the study on comparative law, "MIC:
regulatory, financial and fiscal provisions" in five European countries
(France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands) and the United States
-
As a direct member of ICMIF,
ROAM takes every opportunity to represent the interests of its members
at the world level and also shares its experiences by creating links with mutuals
across the world.
There are many challenges to be faced
-
Solvency II: there is a challenge regarding both Pillar I and Pillar II.
Significant changes are underway with the introduction of Solvency II.
Both for pillar I, quantitative requirements, and pillar II, internal control requirements,
a real revolution is taking place at the European level and this will have
considerable repercussions on the French market. Certain specialised French mutual
insurance companies could find themselves facing an own funds requirement that
is often five to ten times higher than the current requirement. The introduction
and effective follow-up of a well-structured internal control system will pose
problems for all small structures (in terms of cost and internal expertise).
ROAM, which has been involved in this process since the project’s inception,
defends its members position by contributing to the consultation
process on an on-going basis and also by directly lobbying the European authorities.
-
Governance would also appear to be a sensitive issue for French mutualists,
who have been faced with significant successive changes to their regulations
(in 2002, 2003 and then again in 2005) and so have had to respond to the
continual challenge regarding the recognition of their statute and of their
specificities by
adapting to these changes.
Mutual insurance companies have modernised their statutes and
have changed their habits. They have adopted a series
of recommendations regarding governance.
-
European Mutual: since there is no European instrument to enable them to
establish groupings at this level, then the French mutuals are at a
competitive disadvantage compared to joint stock companies, since they
do not have access to the same legal instruments: ROAM continues its
efforts to promote the mutual status at the European level and calls for
the introduction of a European Mutual status in order to allow mutuals
to join forces with one another to create groupings at a cross-border level.
In the context of Solvency II, this instrument becomes essential.
In 2009, ROAM's Mutual insurance companies:
-
achieved a turnover of 11 billion Euros (direct business in France + reinsurance accepted + foreign activities)
-
meaning that they therefore hold approximately 6% of the insurance market in France,
but more than 39% of the builders liability market and more than 58% of medical malpractice liability market.
