With a turnover of 400 million euros, or 4% of the market share of collective insurance products, the Union nationale de prévoyance de la mutualité française (UNPMF) is one of the leading French players in a market that is rapidly expanding due to increasing preoccupation with retirement and the future of social protection. “In 2006, we increased over ten percent in collective contingency funds, a figure higher than that of the market,” says Dominique Chaignon, director of development. “Fifteen collective agreements have named us to manage their system of provision for the future (insurance covering death, disability, and illness) and more and more companies call on us because our mutual character is a guarantee of efficient local service.”
Admittedly it is true that La Mutualité française and its 700 mutual benefit insurance companies – on whose behalf the UNPMF creates and manages savings and retirement products – are better known by the general public for the health benefits they provide than for the individual or collective complementary contingency or retirement guarantees. “We are perfectly aware of this shortfall in our image,“ says Mr Chaignon. “This is why we will be changing our identity next year to improve communication with the public and with businesses. Our new name and logo are ready and will be set to music in the coming months. Our goal is to be better identified as a comprehensive contingency provider and to make the most of the renown of the mutual insurance companies that distribute our products.“

Comprehensive one-stop service
In addition to ensuring local community-based service, this close contact with mutual insurance companies enables the UNPMF – thanks to a policy of social support, access to medical care and prevention – to control and limit the costs of coverage, thus maintaining rigorous management. For even if the UNPMF does not, by definition – by virtue of its mutual nature – have shareholders to pay or returns on net worth to ensure, it is determined to do the best possible job of managing the interests of its subscribers, mutual benefit societies and businesses. Aside from its integrated network of mutual insurance companies, it has many strong points that enable it to offer its partners still more services, notably in the new areas of complementary retirement and dependence-old age guarantees: a solid financial base, the ability to spread risk, including on the international level, and an investment strategy that gives priority to regular long-term returns. The latest example of this strategy is the launch last September of Ampleo, a made-to-measure complementary retirement and contingency plan for corporate clients. Thanks to this new integrated offer of service, launched in partnership with eight of the largest mutual insurance groups on the market, the largest companies now have an unequalled network on the national scale and a one-stop shop that can give their employees a guarantee of high quality on a local community level.