CUMIS withdrawing from Alberta auto and home insurance

Another auto insurer has announced it is exiting Alberta. 

CUMIS General Insurance Company said it will withdraw from the home and auto insurance marketplace in Alberta on Jan. 1, 2026.  

“This necessary decision is in direct response to ongoing challenges in Alberta’s auto insurance market, including the rising cost of auto claims,” the Co-operators-owned company said in a release. 

The company says its Alberta home and auto policies will remain in force until they expire in 2026. Policyholders will receive “ample notice” before their coverage expires, to help them “make an informed decision about securing new coverage.” 

Claims service and decisions will not be impacted, CUMIS says. “All claims made under a CUMIS General home or auto policy will be adjusted in accordance with the terms and conditions of the relevant policy, until such claims have been settled.” 

CUMIS says the decision does not affect its general home and auto program in other provinces. 

Notably, CUMIS’ exit from Alberta means it’s also withdrawing from Alberta’s home insurance market too. 

That’s because the company bundles its home and auto products together.  

“The CUMIS General Home & Auto program was designed to meet the needs of credit unions and their members. Our program promotes convenience and savings by bundling home and auto insurance protection together,” the company said. 

“We have notified the Alberta Superintendent of Insurance of our intention to withdraw,” the release reads. 

CUMIS has a market share of 0.27% for private passenger vehicles in Alberta, according to 2025 filings approved by the Automobile Insurance Rate Board. 

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Canadian Underwriter reached to Co-operators for additional comment, but they declined.

CU also reached out to the Alberta’s Treasury Board and Finance office for comment about the announcement.

“Alberta’s government remains committed to maintaining a competitive, reliable insurance market to ensure stable insurance for Albertans,” a spokesperson for the office said. “Insurers in Alberta are facing increasing challenges including catastrophic events (notably in Calgary), increased costs for vehicle replacement due to tariffs, and high inflation.

“To provide some stability for insurers, and better serve drivers, Alberta’s government is taking action to reform the auto insurance industry,” the spokesperson said, referring to the proposed Care First auto insurance reform, set for Jan. 1, 2027. “These reforms will ensure Albertans receive better, faster care and will control costs for insurance companies by reducing lengthy and costly court battles. These savings will also provide premium stability for Alberta drivers. 

Pressure on insurers unsustainable, expert says 

CUMIS’ planned withdrawal is not the first in Alberta since the rate cap was implemented nearly three years ago — and one expert warns it may not be the last. 

“We’ve seen several insurers now forced to leave Alberta. And that’s impacting tens of thousands of drivers in the province who are losing their insurance company and are going to be forced to find new, likely more expensive coverage from someone else,” Aaron Sutherland, Insurance Bureau of Canada’s pacific and western vice president said. “I think the loss of consumer choice on either market — home, auto, commercial — is a detriment to consumers.” 

Before CUMIS, Definity-owned Sonnet Insurance Company announced in June 2024 it would phase out its auto insurance operations in Alberta by December 2024. Weeks later, Aviva Canada announced its plan to phase out Aviva Direct, its direct-to-consumer home and auto business, from Alberta, by Jan. 2025. In 2023, Zenith Insurance terminated its relationship with an Alberta brokerage that was selling its auto insurance. 

Currently, the good driver rate cap in Alberta is set at 7.5% — which includes a 5% base cap and an additional 2.5% surcharge in 2025 due to natural disaster claims from the previous year.   

“It’s quite clear the regulatory approach and the interventionist approach being taken by the Alberta government is having significant negative impacts on consumers, on the marketplace as a whole,” Sutherland added. 

The cap has long tested insurers’ profitability. Alberta auto insurers lost a -20% weighted average return on premium in 2024, according to a recent profit examination by AIRB.  

In early August, Alberta provided new details about its proposed Care First auto insurance reform, spelling out the limited cases in which Albertans can pursue legal action, and introducing a new tribunal system allowing Albertans to dispute their auto insurers’ benefit decisions. The Care First system is set to be implemented on Jan. 1, 2027.  

At the time, CU inquired with Alberta’s Treasury Board and Finance whether the rate cap will continue in the meantime. “Our government is continuing to study the impact of the good driver rate cap but has not made a decision about the future of the cap at this time,” a spokesperson said in August.  

Editor’s note: This article was edited to include comment’s by Alberta’s Treasury Board and Finance office.

Alyssa DiSabatino

Alyssa Di Sabatino has been a reporter for Canadian Underwriter since 2021, covering industry trends, market developments, and emerging risks.