Three categories of undertaking are present in this market: companies subject to the Insurance Code (insurance undertakings, mutual insurance companies and subsidiaries of banks), mutual societies subject to the Mutual Society Code, and provident societies subject to the Social Security Code.

For example, a mutual insurance company, a credit union and a cooperative entity are all mutual entities.

| 3.AT: The licence for branch offices of foreign insurers has to be denied if the insurer, in the home country, does not have a legal form corresponding or comparable to a joint stock company or a mutual insurance association.CZ: None other than: Foreign financial services suppliers may establish an insurance company with the seat in the Czech Republic in the form of a joint stock company or may exercise insurance activity through their branches with registered office in the Czech Republic under the conditions established in the Insurance Industry Act.Commercial presence and authorisation is required for the provider of insurance servic ...[+++]es:to provide such services including reinsurance, andto conclude intermediation contract with an intermediary aimed at the conclusion of insurance contract between the provider of insurance services and third party.

Since December of 1997, all four major Canadian mutual life companies have announced their intention to develop demutualization plans in anticipation of a new regime that would permit large mutual life companies to demutualize.

Maritime Life and Assumption Life, as national companies with headquarters in the Atlantic Provinces, feel it is important that we are not placed at a competitive disadvantage after harmonization simply because of our location.

You are saying the difference between a mutual and a stock company is that with a stock company one can go out into the public domain through a stock exchange or through some investment dealer to raise the funds required to start a new life company or mutual company.