Guillaume Rosenwald

Editor's Notes

• #4:  MACIF = a French mutual insurance company created initially for managers and employees working in trade and industry.  MACIF was founded by a group of industrialists and tradesmen from Niort. Jacques Vandier (the first Managing Director and today Honorary Chairman) very quickly amended the company’s statutes to cover employees from these sectors.  Regionalisation : as a result of its success and of the growing number of members, MACIF regionalised its structures in order to guarantee both a sense of proximity with its policyholders and strong representation of these policyholders within the company. The Head Office is situated in Niort quite simply because the first major French mutual insurance companies were based in the town. MACIF’s founders were inspired by such models; moreover, two of these mutual companies helped MACIF to set up in Niort.  At the time, mutual companies shared the insurance market according to socio-professional categories. There was therefore little competition between them.
• #5: MACIF is proud to be an actor in the social economy sector.  As you may know, this sector comprises cooperatives, mutual companies and associations.  The main principles of social economy are : democratic power-sharing : “one person, one vote” solidarity within the group absence of individual profit MACIF is a company based on people and not on capital Its policyholders share common interests based on a project to which solidarity is the key. They have access to products and services which give them the best value for their money The company’s permanent funds belong to all its members and are indivisible Schematically, any surplus may be divided into three parts  First beneficiaries : the policyholders, through the quality of products and services offered, the competitiveness of prices and the innovative measures undertaken - Secondly, the company employees who are important contributors to MACIF’s success, Thirdly, the surplus is added to the company’s permanent funds
• #6: (Figures on 31/12/2009) Car insurance made up 80% of turnover a few years ago, and today represents 33%, despite the fact that MACIF has not lost any of its market share. This is a result of our deliberate decision to diversify our activities. This policy was adopted to answer our policyholders’ growing needs.
• #7:  The fact that we are able to offer banking services will encourage our customers to stay with our company (they have indicated that they would prefer to have one single point of contact for insurance as well as other services).  The banking profession is a complex one ; we felt it important to form a strategic alliance with MAIF and the Caisse d’Epargne Group.  MACIF and MAIF are making their own offer.  The Caisse d’Epargne Group contributes to the alliance through its banking expertise and specific services.  SOCRAM BANQUE covers the risk.  It is a major project. We are proceeding with caution so that we may offer the best possible quality of service.  55 MACIF branches, throughout France, were involved in the test period. By the end of 2010 or beginning of 2011, the whole commercial MACIF network will be involved. Our offer to our policyholders : is based on our mutualist principles (transparency, simplicity, fairness, safety, guidance) ; is far removed from the profitability models adopted by traditional banks (we seek to minimise costs for our policyholders, and part of the revenue generated by our banking activity will be paid back to them through their current account).
• #8:  For some of our major projects, we will be looking to join forces with companies close to ours, in order to share our strengths (as we have done in the past with Inter-Mutuelles Assistance and Socram for our assistance and credit activities, for example).  The most recent example of this is the reinforcement of our ties with MAIF and MATMUT. This mutualist partnership will allow us to increase our capacity for innovation and development. We would not be able to undertake certain initiatives on our own (such as helping those subject to dependency, for example).  This reinforcement of ties will also be of benefit to the mutualist model (as in a partnership of three we will have more influence on the insurance sector).  It should also further awareness of the social economy’s needs and specificities both at State level and within European institutions.  The initial areas of cooperation include purchases related or not to insurance, reinsurance, asset management, services to customers…
• #9:  For some of our major projects, we will be looking to join forces with companies close to ours, in order to share our strengths (as we have done in the past with Inter-Mutuelles Assistance and Socram for our assistance and credit activities, for example).  The most recent example of this is the reinforcement of our ties with MAIF and MATMUT. This mutualist partnership will allow us to increase our capacity for innovation and development. We would not be able to undertake certain initiatives on our own (such as helping those subject to dependency, for example).  This reinforcement of ties will also be of benefit to the mutualist model (as in a partnership of three we will have more influence on the insurance sector).  It should also further awareness of the social economy’s needs and specificities both at State level and within European institutions.  The initial areas of cooperation include purchases related or not to insurance, reinsurance, asset management, services to customers…