“Reports about Practical Projects” are written by doctoral students who have designed and carried out a practical project in cooperation with a non-university organization. The BGHS has been supporting these projects with scholarships since 2020. In the forth part of the series, Vera Linke reports on her practical project with a mutual insurance association.

Mututal insurance associations as sustainable organizations: There is life in an old dog yet

The death of associations is a common topos in the public media. In the insurance sector, too, the association is seen as a marginalized phenomenon that is burdened with structural problems. However, the number and market share of mutual insurance associations have long been speaking against the thesis of a pure niche business, and the public suspicion is rising that those who have been told dead live longer after all. So how do associations position themselves in the current insurance landscape? Based on this fundamental question, I developed the project idea of a historical-sociological advisory service in cooperation with a mutual insurance association (VvaG; in German: Versicherungsverein auf Gegenseitigkeit). The VVaG itself was in the middle of a development process that was closely linked to sustainability certification. The association rich in tradition – like many other VVaG founded well before the 20th century – wanted to reposition itself for the future.

Image 1: Annual general assembly of the project partner, beginning of the 20th century.

The practical project consisted of two parts. First, for the general assembly – the highest supervisory body of a VVaG – I developed a lecture which historically examined the organizational and ideal development of associations in the context of the broader insurance field. Here I was able to build directly on my sociological dissertation on organizational development processes in the British insurance industry in the 19th century. In doing so, I demonstrated by means of historical finds that insurance associations were repeatedly declared dead in various ways; and I explained why the form lasted longer than was expected at the respective historical point in time.

Secondly, I developed an analysis of the current positioning of the association in the insurance field, taking into account its sustainability goals. For this purpose, I conducted exploratory talks with employees of the VVaG, took part in meetings such as supervisory board meetings and spoke to insurance brokers who, among other things, sell products of the project partner. The insights into the presence of the VVaG resulted in a thesis-like report. I worked out how the association has so far occupied which niches and raised the question of the extent to which the sustainability topic was suitable for further establishing itself in the market. Finally, I showed where the very actively conducted sustainability discourse at the front level arrives in the organization, in which structures and processes it is inscribed and where it has ended so far. This topic met with so much interest that after the practical project I received an order for an in-depth workshop. This brought together department heads, supervisory board members, member representatives and board members and encouraged a discussion of how the topic of sustainability has been anchored in the association so far and how it should be further developed.

The practical project was a good opportunity for me to test the extent to which findings from historical-sociological research can be transferred to consulting practice. The experience of the practical project shows: Historical analyzes and narratives can be used very well to generate new frames and questions about everyday organizational life. Nonetheless, it was also clear that translation work had to be done. A member representative came up to me after my lecture and said: “When I heard ʻhistoricalʼ I was afraid at first. But that was very exciting. I had never seen our association like this before.”

Further information about the Non-University Careers project can be found on the BGHS website: (Link).