What are members of a reciprocal inter-insurance exchange sometimes informally referred to as?

Members of a reciprocal inter-insurance exchange are often informally referred to as subscribers. This terminology arises from the nature of reciprocal exchanges, where each subscriber essentially agrees to cover the losses of other subscribers in a cooperative manner. Each member contributes to a surplus fund, which is used to pay for claims made by any of the subscribers within the exchange.

This mutual insurance setup means that subscribers have a vested interest in both the performance and stability of the entire exchange, as they are collectively sharing risks among themselves. Each subscriber is also technically an insurer, as they agree to indemnify each other for covered risks. This unique structure emphasizes the collaborative approach to managing insurance risks and differentiates reciprocal exchanges from traditional insurance companies that operate on a profit-motivated basis.

In contrast, while terms like policyholders, partners, and members-at-large may describe participants in other types of insurance arrangements, they do not reflect the distinct relationship that exists within a reciprocal inter-insurance exchange, where the term "subscribers" specifically highlights their role as co-approvers of the coverage and participants in the risk-sharing mechanism.