Two credit unions have announced big changes in their retail insurance operations.

Vermont Federal Credit Union, which is headquartered inBurlington, Vt., and has $415 million in assets, announcedWednesday that it has hired Insuritas, an insurance-agencyoutsourcing firm, to provide a virtual “insurance aisle” in which members can shop, compareand buy insurance products online.

Headquartered in East Windsor, Conn., Insuritas offers life,medical, pet, warranty, AD&D, credit life, and other insuranceproducts via CU-branded e-commerce portals. It has partnered with over95 financial institutions, according to a release, and is headed byPresident and CEO Jeffrey Chesky and COO Gregg Skipper.

“Through this partnership we own the agency, offer a completearray of insurance products to protect our members, their familiesand their businesses, and we build a powerful new fee incomestream,” Vermont FCU President and CEO Bernie Isabelle said.Vermont FCU has 35,000 members.

Also, Redwood Credit Union, headquartered in Santa Rosa, Calif.,has announced it acquired Bay Area-based SST Insurance Brokers. SSThas become part of RCU Insurance Services, which is a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of Redwood CU. The credit union, which has $2.5 billionin assets and about 200,000 members, said acquiring thefull-service agency will allow it to provide local, in-personconsultations and other benefits.

SST will transition to the broker for RCU Insurance Services,which offers auto, home, commercial and other products to members. SST,formerly Sylvester, Schwarz and Tugaw, was established in 1979 inLos Altos, Calif. It became SST Insurance Brokers Inc. in 1997 whenDouglas Mahon, who has became an employee of RCU InsuranceServices, bought the firm.

“This transition will allow us to streamline the process andwork directly with members, which improves our ability to meettheir needs,” RCU Services Group Executive Director Bobbi Beehlersaid. The credit union said it expects to move policies to the newstructure over a one-year period.