Not your Grandfather's insurance company

MADISON, Wis.-The sea of change taking place at CUNA Mutual by its 49% stake in Members Development Company (the remaining 51% is owned by 31 CUs and six CUSOs) continues as the venture is on the verge of making its first foray into unchartered waters, said John Henry, president (CU Times, March 15). Having just concluded the second board strategy session, Henry said that all the group's stated initiatives were discussed and are now prioritized. "We spent two days talking and we trimmed the list. There's some due-diligence to be done but work may begin in as little as 30-days. Right now, I have to keep things close to the vest. What I can say is that everyone is interested in becoming the aggregator of credit union information together with CUNA Mutual." The data mining capabilities of the millions of financial records held by the combined entities is enormous, but the CU standard of maintaining the privacy of member information will be foremost, Henry assured. The formerly-staid insurance giant has taken on a more flexible approach to new arrangements with CUs and CUSOs, he said. "The last five years have seen an evolutionary process take place. We're no longer just tied to proprietary products. In the member service area we now have an open architecture. We see that credit unions are the point of distribution; that the new financial marketplace and the dotcom world have changed everything and that has recultured CUNA Mutual. It's not your Grandfather's insurance company anymore." - caburger@cutimes.com