Types of Insurers
Private Insurers
Numerous kinds of private insurers provide property and liability coverages for individuals, families, and business.
This section discusses various types of private insurers, primarily in terms of:
- The purpose for which they were formed
- Their legal form of organization
- Their ownership
- Their method of operation
To start with, the following shows the differences amount major types of private insurer (and Lloyd’s of London)
| Type | Purpose for which formed | Legal form | Ownership | Method of Operation |
| Stock Insurer | To earn profit for its stockholders | Corporation | Stockholders | The board of directors, elected by stockholders, appoints officers to manage the company. |
| Mutual Insurer | To provide insurance for its owners (policyholders) | Corporation | Policyholders | The board of directors, elected by policyholders, appoints officers to manage the company. |
| Reciprocal insurance exchange (interinsurance exchange) | To provide reciprocity for subscribers (to cover each other’s losses) | Unincorporated association | Subscribers (members) | Subscribers choose an attorney-in-fact to operate the reciprocal. |
| Lloyd’s of London | To earn profit for its individual investors and its corporate investors | Unincorporated association | Investors | The Committee of Lloyd’s is the governing body and must approve all investors for membership. |
