Company profile: Mutual & Federal

South African motor and property insurer Mutual & Federal Insurance suffered its first underwriting loss in a decade as unemployment, crime levels and the number of unlicensed drivers on local roads rose significantly during 1999. The group also saw its pre-tax profits fall by 55% to R248mn in 1999. Mutual & Federal, one of the biggest non-life insurance groups in the country, is also active in neighbouring countries Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe.