Co-op Insurance Services Limited, trading as Co-op Insurance, is a general insurance company which is part of the

Co-operative Group The Co-operative Group Limited, trading as Co-op and formerly known as the Co-operative Wholesale Society, is a British consumer cooperative, consumer co-operative with a group of retail businesses, including grocery retail and wholesale, leg ...

, based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, United Kingdom. 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 and investment company in the United Kingdom, and in the top 30 mutuals globally, with Group funds under management of £169 billion ...

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

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 p.l.c. is a British retail and commercial bank based in Manchester, England. Established as a bank for co-operators and co-operatives following the principles of the Rochdale Pioneers, the business evolved in the 20th ce ...

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 d ...

, 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 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 Kingdom, with an overall ma ...

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 s ...

, 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, Hong Kong, Northern Ireland, Scotland, certain Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. It has shareh ...

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 w ...

, 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, CIS General Insurance Limited, for £185million, leaving the Co-op name as a marketing and distribution brand only. The underwriting business was renamed Soteria Insurance Limited following the sale.

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 a high-rise office building 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 in height. ...

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 SE ( , ) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. Allianz is the world's largest List of largest insurance ...

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, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

sponsorship. It has previously sponsored the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports 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 ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and the

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

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

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, after which the stock exchange decreases the price of the stock by the dividend to remove volatility. The market has no control over the stock price on open on the ex ...

at a rate agreed annually by the Board.The Co-op Membership
The Co-operative Group (retrieved 27 August 2013) A decision made by the Coop meaning Coop members will not earn 2p per £1 spend from 24th Jan 24.

References

External links