The Military Mutual is to launch commercial lines cover.
The move supports serving personnel, including those transitioning into civilian life and setting up a small business. The Military Mutual will launch a wide range of financial services on 29 April to better support members of HM Armed Forces, veterans, the MoD and their families – around 20 million people.
Major General (Ret’d) Sir Sebastian Roberts, Chairman of The Military Mutual and author of “Soldiering : The Military Covenant” said: “For too long, members of the Military Family have been a square peg in a round hole when it comes to financial services. Their needs are different to the average consumer and the financial services community has never really woken up to this. Those that have served their country, or are transitioning into civilian life after a tour of duty deserve better. Better value, better values.”
A new UK financial services company is launching this month, aiming to better and more fully meet the needs of a community that has been let down by the financial services industry. The Military Mutual (TMM), will officially launch on 29th April 2015 (www.themilitarymutual.com) offering a range of insurance solutions that will better match the varied and often complex needs of military personnel – Regulars, Reservists and Veterans from the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force, the MoD and their family members.
Ahead of the full launch later this month, The Military Mutual announces today it will also be launching commercial lines cover to support the millions of veterans that run small businesses and play a vital role in supporting the country’s economic recovery. The Military Mutual will offer a simple and straightforward service to all sizes of small business spanning a wide range of sectors and trades. Products will be priced to be both sustainable and competitive – and veterans will be able to talk to expert advisors at TMM’s own call centre, which is staffed by people trained to understand military life, many of who have direct connections to the military.
These new services follow nationwide research for TMM, which revealed that two in five members of the Military Family (39%) say they do not trust traditional financial services providers. When it came to considering how traditional insurance companies had failed to fully meet the needs of former or current members of the Military Family, the top concerns raised comprised:
- Automatically putting up insurance renewals 45%
- Operating policies to the letter, not showing any discretion to my particular needs or circumstances 36%
- Bombarding me with jargon 33%
- Not giving me the cover I need 32%
TMM has been created to support both those serving and the wider Military Family and embodies the bonds of loyalty, trust and responsibility that are enshrined in The Armed Forces Covenant. The new company is led by distinguished ex-military personnel from all three services in conjunction with experts in mutuality whose values mirror those of HM Armed Forces.
With the major political parties committed to fostering greater diversity and choice in financial services, TMM’s launch also represents the most significant new development in the mutual sector for a generation. As a mutual, the organisation is owned by its members and is free of outside shareholder interests. Products will be simple, tailored to member needs and surpluses can be used to benefit the members and the Military Family.
The timing of the launch is significant. The return of troops from Afghanistan puts in sharper focus the need to better respond to the financial services needs of military personnel. TMM has built a business based on what members want and deserve – a business based on better value delivered through better values.
General (Ret’d) Sir Nick Parker, Director of The Military Mutual added: “The Military Mutual will deliver products that are appropriate and competitively priced: a focus that finally puts military personnel first. True to the mutual ethos, we have been taking a very different approach to our launch – ensuring that in our first 60 days we have direct conversations with our members, receiving feedback and listening to member experiences. From conversations in recent weeks, it has become quite apparent that there is a real need from the veteran community for commercial cover that supports them as they transition into civilian life and set up small businesses. With The Military Mutual members get services created by and for their needs.”
Martin Shaw, Chief Executive of the Association of Financial Mutuals (AFM) said: “The launch of TMM is a welcome new addition to the Mutual industry – the mutual sector recently launched the Mutuals Manifesto which highlights that, in order for consumers to get a fair deal from the financial services industry, we need to see more mutuals capable of challenging PLC banks and insurers, and called for the policy action to remove barriers to the development of new mutual. TMM is the exception that proves the rule that currently launching a new financial mutual is almost impossible. What this continues to demonstrate is the increasing role mutuality offers not only as part of a compelling vision for the broader financial services sector but more importantly improving people’s lives.”
The research was conducted by YouGov, among a representative sample of 500 members of the military family.
