WHAT ARE CUSTOMERS OF FINANCIAL MUTUALS SAYING?

Here is what some customers of mutual insurers say about being part of a mutual

“The company is better being a mutual company as shareholders do not have to be paid.”

“I like to feel as though I own a piece of the action.”

“In this organisation you feel as though you have a slight control in the sense that we have a vote to stop a strategic move.”

“It seems warm, friendly... for me it's like John Lewis; in our benefit... it's belonging...”

“I think the trust element is implicit with the mutuals.”

Paul Giangrande, a Haematology Consultant from Oxford, is a customer of Wesleyan Medical Sickness, which is part of a long-established Birmingham-based mutual, Wesleyan Assurance Society.

“There are no shareholders to pay and no fat cats to be paid out of the money that I'm paying in. It is essentially a democratic organisation in which members have a say. There are no tricky shareholder groups trying to intervene or exert pressure so the focus remains on making sensible investment decisions for the benefit of members.
There’s a real sense of personal service with financial advice and products focused on my needs. For example, my income protection pays out until I secure another job as a Medical Consultant. That’s what I’ve trained to be all these years, so I don’t want to be forced to accept any paid job, as some policy conditions might state. Also Wesleyan’s long-standing financial strength and performance means I receive competitive rates and bonuses.”

Wesleyan Assurance Society is one of the UK’s strongest mutuals and accredited BIA Life Insurer of the Year 2008 and 2010. It provides tailored financial advice and products to GPs, hospital doctors, dentists, lawyers and teachers through its distribution brands Wesleyan Medical Sickness, Wesleyan for Lawyers and Wesleyan for Teachers.