Rock wrote:
- quote -


Yes, they may possibly have dropped some products, but
they would still be licensed to sell them


- quote -

Yes

- quote -

I do NOT know what YOU mean by structure.

- quote -

A Mutual Company, is an Insurance company,
that is OWNED by it's PolicyOwners. As compared
to a STOCK Company, which is OWNED by it's
Stockholders.

In a Mutual Company, any profits of the operation
inure to the policyholders, in the form of dividends,
or a reduction in premium.
In a Stock company, those profits would go to the
people who OWN stock, and/or increase the resale
value of the stock.


- quote -

--
Unable to locate Coffee -- Operator Halted !

This signature file is generated by Pick-a-Tag !
Written by jeroen[at]vanbaarsel.net

Cal,

I appreciate the extra information. Mutual of America's site doesn't
mention anything about health insurance nor non-group life insurance.
Is it possible for a company to be licensed to handle products it does
not actually have?

Just went back and looked at http://www.mutualofamerica.com again.
There is one mention of disability insurance, which I assume is one of
the products they offer in group plans. Is disability insurance
considered a kind of health insurance?

I still don't know the answer to my main question:

* What is this company's structure?

Involved in that anwer would be:

* In what way is it "mutual"?
* Who owns it?

-- Rich


"cal-lester" wrote:
- quote -

{ search URL: http://www.fldfs.com/Data/CompanySearch/index.asp }
|
- quote -

Mutual of America Life Insurance Company ( MALIC,
http://www.mutualofamerica.com/ ) is a large company with a presence
throughout the USA. I cannot figure out "what" they are, though. New
York State Dept. of Insurance classifies them as a life insurance
company, and AM Best says they have a mutual structure. Mutual of
America's site is completely mute on the subject and provides no
information about governance nor annual reports.

I tried to get information from them via phone, got transferred three
times, and was told they'd call me back. It has been several days,
and I don't think they will do so. (My original goal was to ask them
in an e-mail, but they don't publicize a single e-mail address. They
would not even supply one when I asked during the original phone
call.)

So, I have a stupid question, right? Do I doubt both New York State
and AM Best? Well, sort of. I find it somewhat curious that NYS has
no record of examination for the company (
http://www.ins.state.ny.us/examfile.htm ). It really got my interest
when several hours of searching the internet turned up no clues.
(Well, I do know they have a board of directors, and I observed the
names of some of its members.)

Life Insurance Company?
-----------------------
In a vague and fuzzy sense, I agree they are a life insurance company.
They even sell life insurance, at least if one is eligible for a
group policy. IMO, their main site portrays them as a pension company
(in the British sense). Their overriding focus is on retirement
products, not after-death products. In marketing, they are more like
a mutual fund company than an insurance one.

Mutual Company?
---------------
If AM Best says it is mutual, then it is mutual, by golly! But a
mutual _life_insurance_ company? I think not. Guardian, MassMutual,
New York Life, Northwestern Mutual, etc., are owned by participationg
policyholders whose policies are tied to the general account of the
company. As far as I can discern, MALIC has no participating
policies. They do have a general account, managed by a subsidiary (
http://www.capitalmanagementcorp.com/ ). How and which moneys go into
it, they do not say. MALIC advertises neither fixed annuities nor
whole life insurance. One can have a variable annuity, VUL policy, or
IRA invested in several fixed income options, but such moneys go to
separate accounts, not the general account.

I conclude one of three things. Perhaps there is a whole side of
their business which their sites (at least the ones I found) fail to
mention. It would offer whole life and fixed annuities, and
policyholders purchasing them would be the owners of the mutuality.
Or possibly they are "mutual" in the sense mutual funds are mutual.
Those investing in their mutual funds or separate accounts would own
the funds. And, somewhat like Vanguard (which is magnitudes ahead in
describing itself), the mutual funds own the main company.

.... or I am simply clueless and the answer is obvious to everyone but
me. ;-)

Summary
-------
Please understand that I have no ill will towards MALIC, nor do I
suspect them of unethical behavior. My goal is simply to find out
what it is in terms I can understand.

-- Rich
--- Life Insurance Glosspinion
---- http://home.cfl.rr.com/rickyworld/vp/glosspinion.html