The Idea

Imagine you, me and several others who know each other (a group or affiliation) come together and decide that we will help the other when a risk arises , say a health event. This is the most basic form of risk sharing and how insurance must have started in the first place.

Add to this a system of managing the contribution and some rules agreed by all of us in order to help the one in need and you have a more developed stage of a Mutual. This is how Uplift has developed its model of Health Mutual over the last decade bringing systems and processes to a community owned and managed programme.

Mutual

The defining characteristic of a Mutual is its risk sharing. Unlike in other models of risk protection (insurance) the risk is not transferred to a third party but pooled and shared by the contributing members and is very similar to how Self Help Groups are organized. 

Decision about contribution and benefits are mutually taken and its the ownership and trust that members have that is the lifeline of this model.