One system for members, renewals and board-decided claims.
Cuttleflow runs the administration behind a discretionary mutual: member records, each renewal season’s terms, contributions, documents, claims decisions and reporting. The mutual keeps its board, its actuary, its members and its judgement.
Most of a mutual’s administration is volume work concentrated around one renewal date. Cuttleflow is built to make that work cheaper, and to leave a record the board, reinsurers and auditors can rely on.
01 · The sector
Discretionary mutuals are growing.
$416m
Combined member contributions to Australian discretionary risk mutuals in FY25, up 10% on FY24.
150,000+
Businesses, organisations and individuals protected by those mutuals.
93%
Of reporting mutuals grew their membership in FY25.
63%
Of identified mutuals are under ten years old.
Source: BCCM, Discretionary Risk Mutuals Pulse Check 2025/26, as reported by Insurance Business Australia, 18 September 2026.
The market is also softening. Several commercial lines recorded their first premium falls since 2016 in FY25, and some members are being offered cheaper conventional cover. A mutual that keeps its administration cost low, and can show members clearly what it provides from renewal to claim, is better placed to keep them.
02 · How a mutual’s year runs
One cycle, and the records between each step.
- 01Season set-up. The board approves protection guidelines, retention, the reinsurance program and rates for the year.
- 02Member information. Members confirm details, assets, turnover, activities and claims history.
- 03Contributions. Contributions are calculated, the allocation applied, and notices and statements issued.
- 04During the year. New members, changes, exits, certificates, invoicing and collections.
- 05Claims. Lodgement, investigation, the board’s decision with reasons, payment and reinsurance recovery.
- 06Reporting. Board packs, reinsurer and actuarial data, audit and member reporting.
03 · What makes mutual administration different
Members, not insureds. Discretion, not a contract.
Discretion over claims
Members have a right to have a claim considered, not a contractual right to be paid. The record of each decision, its reasons and the guideline applied is what shows the board used its discretion properly and consistently.
Member ownership
Members are owners as well as protected parties. Records, communications and statements need to reflect membership, not just cover.
Contributions and allocation
Allocation methods vary widely and are set by the mutual and its actuary. The system accepts the mutual’s method rather than imposing one.
Reinsurance and retention
Losses above the retention are reinsured, often under several arrangements. The mutual needs to see retention used and give reinsurers timely data.
The mutual’s language
Contributions, protection, protection guidelines and members — not premiums, policies and insureds. Every document and screen uses the mutual’s own terms.
Managers running several funds
A mutual manager needs several funds on one operating model, with each fund’s data, branding and documents kept separate.
04 · What the system does, and when
Status as at October 2026.
Three labels. Available today: built and can be demonstrated. In development: being built now. Planned: designed or scheduled, not started. Build order follows client commitments, so an early client can influence what is delivered first.
A separate system for each client
Own system and database for each client, hosted in Australia. Member data is not pooled with other clients.
Rating
Dated, versioned rate tables and rules applied to each contribution. Where the actuary allocates the total between members, the allocation results are loaded rather than recalculated.
Rules engine and audit ledger
Deterministic rules, with a record of every change and calculation, so each contribution traces to the rules in force at the time.
Online forms and documents
Member forms sent by secure link; schedules and certificates generated in the mutual’s terms.
Invoicing
Contribution invoices generated from the member record.
Reporting and reinsurer data
Reports and data for reinsurers and capacity providers.
Mid-year changes and exits
Changes that re-rate and re-issue; cancellations.
Card payments
A payment gateway for contributions.
Member and broker portal
A branded portal for members or brokers.
Renewal year and batch renewal
Renewal-year set-up, then rating, issue and email to every member in one run.
Participation statements
Member statements in discretionary mutual form.
Discretionary claims
Lodgement, hand-off to a claims manager, and each decision recorded with its reasons and the guideline applied.
Discretionary and insured together
Quote and issue more than one product for the same member in one step.
New Zealand
New Zealand jurisdiction set-up.
The computer reads. People and fixed rules decide. Artificial intelligence is never used to set a contribution or decide a claim.
05 · Who does what
The mutual decides. The system records.
The mutual and its board
Bring the members, protection guidelines, capital and reserves. Decide rates, allocation, who is accepted, and every claim.
The mutual manager
Brings the licence, administration, claims management and compliance. Decides how the mutual is operated, within the board’s authority.
The actuary
Brings pricing, allocation and reserving models. Decides contribution requirements and the allocation method.
Reinsurers
Bring protection above the retention. Decide reinsurance terms and recoveries.
Cuttleflow
Brings the system: records, rules, documents, workflows, reporting and the audit trail. Decides nothing about protection, contributions or claims.
06 · The regulatory setting
Outside APRA, inside the Corporations Act.
Discretionary cover is not provided by a contract of insurance, so mutuals sit outside the Insurance Act 1973 and the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 and are not prudentially supervised by APRA. Discretionary protection is a financial product under the Corporations Act, so the mutual or its manager holds an Australian financial services licence or relies on an exemption, with the conduct, disclosure and dispute resolution obligations that follow. Many mutuals also follow the BCCM’s voluntary Code of Conduct.
A system cannot meet those obligations for the mutual. It can make them easier to evidence: a complete history of every member record, rate change, document and decision; reports for the board and the audit and risk committee; and complaint and claims records kept with the member file.
07 · Questions to ask of your current process
- 01How many staff-days does renewal take, and how much of that is collecting and checking member information?
- 02How much member information changes from one year to the next, and how much is re-entered anyway?
- 03If a member or auditor asked why a claim was declined three years ago, how long would it take to show the decision, its reasons and the guideline in force?
- 04How long does it take to produce the data your reinsurers ask for?
- 05Could you add a new member group, fund or insured product without adding staff or a new system?
08 · How we work with you
Five steps, nothing confidential until the second.
1 · Introductory call
Forty-five minutes on how your renewal and claims processes run today and where the effort goes. Nothing confidential is needed.
2 · Mutual NDA
Signed before you share any member, claims or rating information.
3 · Discovery
A working session on your renewal cycle, contribution method, claims process and reporting.
4 · Demonstration
The platform shown with a sample of your own product, terms and documents.
5 · Proposal
Scope, timetable and commercial terms, subject to contract.
Cuttleflow Systems is a software company. It does not underwrite, hold risk, issue or arrange protection, decide claims, hold contributions or premium, provide reinsurance, act as a broker or hold an Australian financial services licence. Those stay with the mutual, its manager and its advisers. The summary of the regulatory setting is general information, not legal, financial or regulatory advice. Capability status may change, and items marked In development or Planned carry no delivery date.