Mutuals break with time-honoured tradition

The German mutuals, which together with their subsidiaries produce some 30% of the country’s insurance turnover of DM250bn (US$121.4bn), are breaking with a time-honoured tradition. Decades ago German insurers had agreed that they would not exploit their legal status when competing with each other; there are currently joint stock companies, mutuals and public-law insurers active in the country.