Co-op Insurance is the trading name of CIS General Insurance, a general insurance company, which is part of the

Co-operative Group Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op, is a British consumer cooperative, consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses including food retail, wholesale, e-pharmacy, insurance and legal services, and funeral care. The Co-op ...

, based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, United Kingdom. Co-op Insurance Services, an insurance intermediary incorporated in 2017, is a wholly owned subsidiary of CIS General Insurance. For most of its history, Co-op Insurance was also a

life insurer Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...

and

fund manager Fund may refer to: * Funding is the act of providing resources, usually in form of money, or other values such as effort or time, for a project, a person, a business, or any other private or public institution ** The process of soliciting and gathe ...

, 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 The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Limited, along with its subsidiaries, is the largest mutual insurer in the United Kingdom, with Group funds under management of over £150 billion. Group businesses provide around nine million policie ...

agreed to buy the life insurance business unit for an estimated £219 million. As a result, Co-op Insurance currently offers business, home, motor, travel and pet insurance products.

History

Co-operative Insurance Society Tower, Miller Street, Manchester (2) (geograph 2757249)

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 An industrial and provident society (IPS) is a body corporate registered for carrying on any industries, businesses, or trades specified in or authorised by its rules. The members of a society benefit from the protection of limited liability ...

, 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 Co-operative Retail Services (CRS, originally CWS Retail) was the second-largest consumer co-operative society in the United Kingdom. In 2000, it was dissolved by its members, merging with the larger Co-operative Wholesale Society, to form the C ...

in 2000. In 2002, due to the poor performance of CIS, Co-operative Financial Services was created as a holding company for both CIS and

The Co-operative Bank The Co-operative Bank plc is a retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom, with its headquarters in Balloon Street, Manchester. The Co-operative Bank is the only UK high street bank with a customer-led Ethical Policy which is incorporat ...

including

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

, 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. In 2006, CIS split its life and general insurance businesses into two separate entities, establishing CIS General Insurance Limited within which all new and renewing insurance business was written. All existing CIS general insurance business was reinsured with CISGIL and CIS continued to write long-term savings and insurance business only. CFS Management Services Limited was created at the same time to provide common support services to both CIS and CISGIL. In 2011, after 125 years, The Co-operative Insurance announced that it would cease providing life assurance products.

Divestment

In March 2013, the Co-operative Banking Group agreed to sell the life insurance, investment and pension businesses to the Royal London Mutual Insurance Society, due to ongoing issues with internal management capability. The intention to sell the general insurance aspect was also announced, although in the event of a sale, it stated it would continue to sell re-badged products under The Co-operative Insurance name. The administration of the life portfolio had been managed by

Capita Group Capita plc, commonly known as Capita, is an international business process outsourcing and professional services company headquartered in London. It is the largest business process outsourcing and professional services company in the United K ...

since 2007 in an attempt to reduce operating costs. In May 2013, the Co-operative Banking Group withdrew from the agreed purchase of the TSB business after regulators uncovered the extent of issues within the company. In June, the Group revealed a shortfall in its accounts of up to £1.8 billion, related to bad debts on commercial real estate, belated costs following the 2009 purchase of

Britannia Building Society The Britannia Building Society was founded as the Leek & Moorlands Building Society in Leek in 1856. It expanded steadily as a regional society until the late 1950s when it began a major expansion drive, partly through branch openings but also so ...

, and a failed overhaul of key IT systems. In July 2013, Co-operative Insurance Society became a

private company limited by shares A private company limited by shares is a class of private limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, certain Commonwealth countries, and the Republic of Ireland. It has shareholders with limit ...

under the

Companies Act Companies Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Botswana, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom in relation to company law. The Bill for an Act with this short title ...

, changing its name to Royal London (CIS) Limited. Subsidiary undertakings, CIS Unit Managers Limited (trading as ''The Co-operative Investments'') and CIS Policyholder Services Limited became RLUM (CIS) Limited and RL Marketing (CIS) Limited respectively. The Co-operative Asset Management Limited also transferred, becoming Royal London Asset Management (CIS) Limited. Excluded from the sale, CIS General Insurance remained with the Co-operative Banking Group. In January 2014, The Co-operative Group announced its decision not to sell the GI business. The proceeds of the sale (announced on 21 March 2013) were envisaged to be a part of the Group’s planned £1 billion contribution to the recapitalisation of The Co-operative Bank. The revised terms of the Recapitalisation Plan, as set out on 4 November 2013, involve a smaller Group contribution and have allowed the Group, as part of its wider strategic review, to reconsider its plans. The Co-operative Group no longer owns any part of the former Bank. In 2020, Co-operative Group sold the insurance underwriting business for £185million, leaving the Co-operative name as a marketing and distribution brand only .

Operations

The Society's head office on Miller Street in Manchester city centre was, at the time of completion in 1962, the tallest building in Europe, standing at 387 feet (118 m). Since the opening of the Beetham Tower in 2006, it is now the second tallest building in Manchester. In 2006, using a government subsidy, the

CIS Tower The CIS Tower is an office skyscraper on Miller Street in Manchester, England. Designed for the Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) by architects Gordon Tait and G. S. Hay, the building was completed in 1962 and rises to 118 m (387 feet) in h ...

was clad in solar panels due to a large number of 1960’s tiles falling off the building, becoming Europe's largest vertical solar array. Co-op Insurance currently offers business, home, motor, travel and pet insurance products. Pet insurance is provided, underwritten and administered by

Allianz Allianz ( , ) is a German multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. The company is one of the world's largest insurers and financial services groups. The ...

Insurance, part of the Allianz (UK) Group. HomeRescue Plus, motor breakdown et cover and accident recovery service are provided on behalf of Co-op Insurance by AXA Assistance (UK). The Co-op Insurance has a tradition of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

sponsorship. It has previously sponsored the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and the

Irish League Cup The Northern Ireland Football League Cup (BetMcLean League Cup for sponsorship purposes), also known colloquially as the Irish League Cup, is a national football knock-out cup competition in Northern Ireland open to all member clubs of the Nort ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Membership

Members of The Co-operative Group and participating regional societies earn membership points on the products they hold. Points are converted into

dividend A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, it is able to pay a portion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Any amount not distributed is taken to be re-in ...

at a rate agreed annually by the Board.The Co-op Membership
The Co-operative Group (retrieved 27 August 2013)

References

External links