NFU Mutual

British mutual insurance company

The business is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, with complaints oversight available via the Financial Ombudsman Service.

In 1910, the Midlands Farmers' Mutual Insurance Society Ltd was formed by seven farmers in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire. The company provided insurance and the scheme was confined to members of recognised farmers' unions. Premiums were charged at established insurance rates with a discount of 15% to union members. John William Lowe was elected the first chair, serving 1910 18. James Robertson Black was the first secretary, and his farmhouse was the first office. In 1912, he became the first managing director. He served for 42 years, serving as vice chair 1946 52. The first accounts (1911) show income of £311 and profit of £16. In 1922, NFU Mutual became the official insurer of the NFU of Scotland. It was one of the first to be designed around environmental sustainability. who initially approached five venture capitalists in the hope of launching a bid. Substantial windfalls for members were anticipated. Commenting to the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee on the possibility of demutualisation, Andrew Young, the then managing director said: "In our view, members of a mutual should decide how the business is run, and if they are not satisfied, they should get rid of the Board and the management rather than demutualise." In 2002, Andrew Young retired, succeeded by Ian Geden. He became group chief executive in 2005 when that post was created. During his term, the general insurance premium income grew from £603 million to £944 million. In March 2021, Nick Turner became chief executive. The drought of 2022 saw a huge growth in farm and combine harvester fires which cost the Mutual around £100 million in claims. NFU Mutual has also announced that more than 20,000 customers made claims worth a total of £170 million for Storm Arwen in 2021 and Storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin in 2022. That year the Annual report stated "A Principal Risk and Uncertainty is that NFU Mutual's customer base changes substantially beyond expectations." Following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NFU Mutual revealed it would divest from its Russian holdings. NFU Mutual reported receiving over 5,000 complaints (representing 3 complaints per 1,000 policies) from 1 July 2022 – 31 December 2022. In 2022, NFU Mutual won several industry fraud awards. In the same year, NFU Mutual's Claims Validation Technical Manager David Phillips became chair of the General Insurance Fraud Committee of the ABI. NFU Mutual was Which? 'Insurance Brand of the Year' for 2022'. In 2023, NFU Mutual was the only Which? recommended provider of home insurance. The business apologised in 2023 to a third party couple whose garden and swimming pool had been destroyed by a member of NFU Mutual and their buffalo herd. In January 2024 Ali Capper, a member of the business's Remuneration Committee have evidence to the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee about issues of power abuse and exploitation of farmers in the agri food supply chain.

In 2022, NFU's Mutual solvency ratio improved by 14% to 218%. The NFU Mutual has asked the Prudential Regulation Authority to reduce the scale of reserves required for it under Solvency II Regulations. This is still in place for NFU Mutual.

In 2022, the Financial Reporting Council asked about declarations regarding its exposure to Business Interruption claims because of requirements of section 21 ‘Provisions and Contingencies’ of FRS 102s. The FRC stated NFU Mutual 'provided a satisfactory response'.

The management and conduct of the business is done under the authority of the members/policyholders who are senior to the directors and executives and may dismiss them. There are around 900,000 members of the NFU Mutual. As NFU Mutual has no shareholders, a proportion of its profits, if any, are returned to policyholder members in the form of an adjustment on quoted premiums of renewing customers. A discount of between 8.5% and 13.5% (2022/2023) is provided which the business brands "Mutual Bonus". Under NFU Mutual's articles of association, each policy generates a distinct right to speak and vote at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), scrutinise the accounts, and hold the management to account, as well as an ownership right in the business. The AGM is generally held at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon, Warwickshire and is open to all policyholder members.

In the 2021 report, there was a gender pay gap of 24.5% based on hourly wage (mean). The bonus gap is 50.9% (mean). The 2023 Gender pay gap report sais "Much of NFU Mutual’s Gender Pay Gap can be attributed to the structure of the workforce." NFU Mutual was written to by the Equalities Minister in 2018 about its non engagement with the Women in Finance Charter and signed it in 2018.

In 2022, NFU Mutual announced a carbon reduction strategy relating to its own operations. Targets include a 25% reduction in the business's own emissions by 2025 and a 50% reduction by 2030. To support this, NFU Mutual said it aims to maintain 100% renewable electricity purchase for its occupied premises. For its investments, the insurer is targeting a 50% emissions reduction in its equity and corporate bond portfolio by 2030. In 2020, Ethical Consumer criticised NFU Mutual for "just talking about the climate impact of their offices" rather than the "far more significant impact of their investments". NFU Mutual responded saying: "We avoid areas we consider harmful such as predatory lenders, certain munitions, and climate unfriendly companies with no plans to help decarbonisation."

NFU Mutual offers personal and business as well as motor private and commercial motor insurance. They specialise in agricultural insurance. The business also offers various investment and pension products, including ISAs and With Profit funds, and sells financial advice and inheritance tax planning.

In 2021, NFU Mutual bought a unit near Milnrow for £27 million, and also committed to spending £100 million on six sheds near Clowes. Also in 2021, NFU Mutual's plans to invest in a warehouse in Witney attracted over 190 objections. NFU Mutual responded saying the warehouses would create 150 jobs that will benefit the local economy and will add much needed high quality space to the area. In April 2022 NFU Mutual's management allocated in excess of a further £20 million of members' funds to this speculative investment with its commercial partner Tungsten. In March 2022, plans were announced to build a speculative £34 million shed in Staffordshire. Work has since began on the shed. In April 2022, a shed was traded with Valor for £50 million. In July 2022, NFU Mutual sold eight warehouses to American based investment firm Barings LLC for £234 million and the negotiations were described as "contentious" when the deal completed in 2023. In October 2022, along with partners Apache, NFUM obtained a loan of £70 million from Deutsche Bank to finance a £150 million build to rent development in Liverpool. A 325 rental home unit neighbourhood in Liverpool was funded with NFUM capital and loans and opened in late 2022. It is reported to be the UK's largest build to rent project. In May 2023, it was revealed that the business was to sell another £90 million worth of real estate assets. NFU Mutual has recently liquidated retail assets on London: 24 Old Bond Street was sold for £141 million; 3/5 Bond Street was sold for £151 million. 2024 saw the business spend £20 million on another office building.

NFU Mutual acquired the Islands Insurance Group in 1987, providing access to NFU Mutual products for customers in the Channel Islands.

Avon Insurance was established in 1925 to provide insurance to non farming customers.

In 1929, NFUM bought another farming insurance company, Northern Farmers. Between 1948 and 1974, NFUM had operations alongside unions in Central and East Africa, including what was then known as Rhodesia and Kenya. Operations in Kenya ceased in 1964 and Rhodesia in 1974.

NFU Mutual set up a Charitable Trust in 1998 to deal with need concerned with 'agriculture, rural development and insurance.' In 2022, it pledged to donate £1m to 'national and regional charities' as part of NFU Mutual's overall donation of £3.25 million to charity. In 2022, it donated £30,000 to help the NFU support and expand its education projects. In the past 24 years the independent charity has distributed funds averaging around £250,000 per year. In 2022 the NFUM Charitable Trust pledged £150,000 to Disasters Emergency Committee's Ukraine Appeal.

In 2014, NFUM set up the Farm Safety Foundation, an independent charity to help young farmers challenge their behaviours and change their attitude to farm safety. The foundation aims to have zero avoidable deaths on farms and runs an annual Mind Your Head campaign concerning mental health issues.

In 2020, NFU Mutual set up a fund for its agency offices to use in order to distribute money to charities in their local communities. A total of £1 million was distributed in the first year. In 2021, the Agency Giving Fund distributed £2 million to charities and in 2022 it distributed £1.92 million. In 2023, the report showed rural crime cost the UK an estimated £49.5 million in 2022, an increase of £9 million from the year before. The 2022 edition of the report indicated that rural crime cost the countryside £40.5 million in 2021, down from £44.7 million in 2020. In October 2022, the business released research indicating their customers had "put a hold on their [investment] plans while assessing uncertainty overshadowing" them. Since 2016, NFU Mutual has produced an annual responsible business report.

In Smith (Leah) v National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society Limited and Robinsons Services Limited [2019] NIQB 37, the company denied liability for an accident sustained during an employee's attendance at work, but the court found against the company. In 2017, Preston based law firm Barber & Co were ordered to pay costs to NFU Mutual after the firm represented a claimant in an injury case without instruction. Barber & Co lost the case and HHJ Peter Hughes referred the case onto the Solicitors Regulation Authority, Lancashire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service for further action. The law firm claimed the case was the result of "two non qualified fee earners creating false documentation." In 2016, NFU Mutual denied liability for a £128,000 bill for damage to a cottage from a burst water pipe. NFU Mutual lost the case and was ordered by Mr Justice Holgate to pay £100,000 in legal costs on top of the damage. In 2010, NFU Mutual sought compensation from HSBC towards fire damage to a property on the basis of double insurance but the judge agreed with HSBC and NFU Mutual was liable for the full extent of the claim.

In 2011, employee Gordon Murray was jailed for his fraud on the members of £400,000. In 2018, Iain Wishlade also an NFU employee, was jailed for submitting a fraudulent payment request from his business LDK Ltd to NFU Mutual.

In February 2023, it was reported in the Insurance Post that "complaints over missing cover for Covid related booking cancellations upheld."

In November 2020, following criticism and campaigning the company's conduct in deducting COVID 19 support grants from its payments triggered by COVID 19 were called into question in debate in the House of Commons with John Glen MP stating: "I am aware that NFU Mutual has continued to make such deductions. As stated in my letter, these grants are intended to provide emergency support to businesses at this time of crisis, and it is the Government's firm expectation that they are not to be deducted from business interruption insurance claims."

In 2011, the issue of exessive pay has received negative attention, with the Insurance Times quoting an observer as saying: "Only two words come to mind – and they are 'snout' and 'trough'. In 2013, a director of NFU Mutual, David Anderson, was scrutinised for his role as chief executive of the troubled Co operative Bank during its financial collapse which had a capital short fall of £1.5bn. NFU Mutual's board left Anderson in place, going further and issuing a statement saying they benefited from his kind of advice and 'had no plans to review his appointment'.