Co-operative Insurance Society
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| Subsidiary undertaking | |
| Industry | Insurance services |
| Founded | 1867 |
| Headquarters |
CIS Tower, Manchester, United Kingdom |
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Key people
|
Mark Summerfield managing director |
| Products | General insurance |
| Revenue | £3.5 billion |
| Parent | The Co-operative Group |
| Website | coop |
Co-op Insurance, formerly the Co-operative Insurance Society, is a general insurance company based in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Co-operative Group, which also has businesses within the food, travel, electrical, funeralcare and legal services sectors.
For most of its history, Co-op Insurance was also a life insurer and fund manager, sharing surpluses with holders of its 'with-profits' life policies, as well as with individual members of The Co-operative Group in proportion to their general insurance patronage. In 2013, Royal London Group agreed to buy the life insurance business unit for an estimated £219 million.
The Co-operative Insurance Company Limited was formed in 1867 to provide fire and fidelity guarantee insurance to co-operative societies. In 1886, at an Annual General Meeting it was resolved "...that Life Assurance be undertaken by the Company, and that the shareholders forfeit any rights they may have to the profits of the Life Department and agree that they shall belong exclusively to the Policyholders." In 1899, industrial life business was also introduced and the company was converted into an industrial and provident society, changing its name to Co-operative Insurance Society Limited (CIS). Other classes of business were provided for the general public and not just for co-operative societies and their members.
The shares of the Society were taken over by the Co-operative Wholesale Society and the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society in 1913. In 1973, the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Society merged with CWS. CWS became The Co-operative Group on merger with Co-operative Retail Services in 2000.
In 2002, Co-operative Financial Services was created as a holding company for both CIS and The Co-operative Bank including Smile, the first full internet bank and, in 2008, The Co-operative Insurance and The Co-operative Investments trading names were introduced. In 2011, Co-operative Financial Services became the Co-operative Banking Group.
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Wikipedia