Mutual & Federal car insurance was initially founded as the South African Fire and Life Assurance Company in 1831. It was based in Cape Town and had been trading well for 64 years before being acquired by London & Lancashire, which was subsequently acquired by Royal Group in 1962.
South Africa had become a republic in the 1960’s and the government required all foreign insurance companies with branches based in South Africa to register as South African companies and be listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. This resulted in Royal Group’s companies merging with Old Mutual’s short-term insurance company SA Mutual Fire & General Insurance in 1970. The merged business was named Mutual and Federal.
In 2010, Old Mutual acquired Royal Group’s shares of Mutual and Federal, making it the sole owner of the company.
As of 5 June 2017, Mutual and Federal was rebranded as Old Mutual Insure. CEO of Old Mutual Insure, Raimund Snyders had the following to say about the rebranding.
“Changing a well recognised and respected brand, such as Mutual & Federal is not something that happens often. The brand history of Mutual & Federal goes back to the 1800s, with this rebrand being another milestone signalling the journey we have been on as a member of the Old Mutual family.
The rebranding process has been managed thoroughly and collaboratively, to ensure a seamless change-over for our employees, advisors, brokers and of course, our customers.
We’re using this opportunity to improve our digital capability, to make it more convenient and easier for brokers and customers across Africa to transact with us.”
