The Co-operators Life Insurance Co., which bought CUMIS Group Ltd. in 2009, has announced its plans to acquire another Canadian credit union insurance subsidiary.
The Co-operators said it has plans to buy G&F Financial Group’s general assets and Autoplan appointment. G&F is a division of Gulf and Fraser Fisherman's Credit Union, which has more than $1 billion in assets under administration.
G&F Financial Group will continue to provide life, disability, critical illness and credit insurance to members through G&F Insurance Services’ subsidiary.
The deal, which would increase the Co-operators’ presence in British Columbia where 45 of its 512 insurance and financial advisers in Canada are currently located, is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close June 30, according to the insurance company.
“Not unlike other credit unions in our region, we recognized that a strong general insurance offering would require a significant internal investment, which would exceed the revenue we could generate from the business,” said Bill Kiss, co-CEO of G&F, in a statement. “We opted to free up capital and use it to modernize and expand our branch network instead.”
In 2009, the Co-operators, along with Central 1 Credit Union, bought CUMIS. The insurance firm was once majority-owned by CUNA Mutual Group.
