EN
Before the Second World War, mutual insurance companies have developed dynamically and with great success. Then, after having vanished from the Polish market for about 50 years, they suddenly reappeared in 1991. The authoress analyses the reasons of the companies' inability of retrieving their old splendour, as well as the obstacles in their development. She asserts that both the new legal definition and the regulations from 2003 are not precise enough. Therefore, she suggests some changes and submits a wider legal definition of the mutual insurance society. It can be defined, according to the authoress, as a separate and independent subject - both legally and organisationally, existing only within the scope of insurance, voluntarily uniting its members and having the purpose of satisfying mutual insurance needs - in exchange for changeable fees. She also discusses whether the mutual insurance society as the subject of non-profit character can be an entrepreneur and lead a business activity. Undoubtedly, presented arguments proved the above thesis.