Ms. Bardswick: The Co-operators General Insurance Company is the third largest general insurance company in Canada, wholly owned by a co- operative called The Co-operators Group Limited. This organization and its predecessors have been in business for 60 years. The Co-operators General Insurance Company and The Co-operators Group as the holding entity were formed in the mid-1970s as a result of a merger between two co-operative insurance conglomerates. The Co-operators General ultimately became the general insurance focus for the group of Canadian companies that operates within a co-operative system of ownership, which focuses more broadly on financial services. The Co-operators General Insurance Company has a number of wholly owned subsidiaries and provides a full range of P&C products to Canadians through multiple distribution. We are in direct agency distribution as well as group and affinity distribution, and The Co-operators General does a fair amount of business with broker relationships, primarily on the commercial side.
TWST: Do you deal primarily with the individual policyholder or is there
a substantial commercial policyholder business?
Ms. Bardswick: The Co-operators General is where our system of 433
exclusive agents resides as a standalone entity. So the brand in the
marketplace referred to as The Co-operators General is the product and
service offering that our agency system provides to communities from
coast to coast. Within The Co-operators General, a number of
subsidiaries specialize on their distinct distribution and brand. For
example, Sovereign General Insurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary
of The Co-operators General, specializes in commercial insurance through
the brokerage distribution system. Our group and affinity products and
services are distributed through call centers and a group distribution
infrastructure. The brand in the marketplace is a wholly owned
subsidiary of The Co-operators General called COSECO, the marketing arm,
known as HB Group Insurance Management.
Tickers included in this excerpt: CCS-PA:TSX
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