Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) is a Canadian insurance company and a

Crown corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

wholly owned by the Government of Saskatchewan. SGI's operations consist of the Saskatchewan Auto Fund, the compulsory public auto insurance program for Saskatchewan, and its property and casualty insurance division sells additional automobile and property insurance products in five Canadian provinces under the trade name SGI Canada. SGI also operates the

driver licensing A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public r ...

and

motor vehicle registration Motor vehicle registration is the registration of a motor vehicle with a government authority, either compulsory or otherwise. The purpose of motor vehicle registration is to establish a link between a vehicle and an owner or user of the vehicle. Th ...

system for Saskatchewan as part of its oversight of the Auto Fund. The Auto Fund is financially self-sustaining, operating on a break-even basis over time. The Saskatchewan Auto Fund does not receive money from or pay dividends to the government. Under the SGI Canada brand, SGI sells property and casualty insurance on properties such as homes, farms, businesses and automobile insurance in five

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

s. It operates as SGI Canada in Saskatchewan; SGI Canada Insurance Services Ltd. in Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario; and

Coachman Insurance Company Coachman Insurance Company is a Canadian insurance company founded in 1979 and based in Ontario. Coachman was purchased by SGI Canada Insurance Services, a subsidiary of Saskatchewan Government Insurance Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) ...

in Ontario.

History

SGI was created by the first avowedly socialist government in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

elected in 1944, the

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...

(later renamed

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

). Under Premier Tommy Douglas, the government began to involve itself in many sectors of the economy, including insurance. The rationale was put forth that Saskatchewan residents were being taken advantage of by companies owned outside the province who set rates too high. Also, at least 90 per cent of the insurance in the province was written by companies established in Eastern Canada. Thus the institution of a publicly owned insurance company was justified by the government on both philosophical and economic grounds. Working out of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building, Michael Allore, the first president, sold the first policy – Fire Policy Number 1 – to Minister O. W. Valleau on May 1, 1945, and appointed its first broker, Oscar Sawby of Maple Creek, on May 17. By the end of 1945, SGI had 60 employees and a small network of private, independent insurance brokers located across the province selling insurance on behalf of the corporation. The introduction of a state-run automobile insurance was controversial. For the first few years of its existence, other provinces refused to recognize SGI policies as legitimate. One result of such non-recognition was that SGI-insured drivers involved in a collision in Manitoba were either detained or required to post a bond because Manitoban authorities essentially considered them to be "uninsured" drivers.

Corporate governance

SGI and SGI CANADA are governed by ''The Saskatchewan Government Insurance Act'', ''1980'', and ''The Automobile Accident Insurance Act'', and are subject to the provisions of ''The Crown Corporations Act'', ''1993'', which gives the Crown Investments Corporation, the holding company for Saskatchewan's commercial Crown corporations, the broad authority to set the direction of the corporation. Where required by legislation or policy directive, SGI submits performance management and investment decisions for review and approval by CIC and the provincial cabinet (government). Through its chair, who is an outside director, the SGI Board of Directors is accountable to the Minister Responsible for SGI. The minister functions as a link between the corporation and CIC and cabinet, as well as the provincial legislature.

Board of directors

The board of directors is responsible for setting direction, monitoring and reporting achievement, and analyzing, evaluating and taking corrective action for the corporation. The board is responsible for the stewardship of the corporation in general terms. In meeting this responsibility, the board works with management to develop and approve the corporation's strategic plan, operating goals, annual budget and business plans. It participates in identifying business risk and overseeing the implementation of appropriate systems to achieve a balance between the risks incurred and potential returns. The board of directors is appointed by the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in Council. The board consists of ten external directors. Both the chair and vice-chair of the board are external directors.

Structure and functions

SGI employs approximately 2,400 people and works with a network of almost 300 independent insurance brokers and about 450 motor licence issuers in Saskatchewan, as well as numerous brokers in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario. In October 2008, SGI was named one of " Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and was featured in '' Maclean's'' newsmagazine. Later that month, SGI was named one of Saskatchewan's Top Employers, which was announced by the Saskatoon

StarPhoenix ''The StarPhoenix'' is a daily newspaper that serves Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is a part of Postmedia Network. The ''StarPhoenix'' puts out six editions each week and publishes one weekly, ''Bridges''. It is also part of the canada.com ...

and Regina Leader-Post newspapers. SGI's head office is in downtown Regina, Saskatchewan. It also operates 20 claims centres in 13 Saskatchewan communities, has branch offices in Winnipeg, Edmonton and Toronto, and five salvage locations (auto wrecker, used parts).

References

External links