Insurance reciprocals form national association

The Canadian Association of Insurance Reciprocals has recently formed to serve as the collective voice of insurance reciprocals across Canada.The not-for-profit association’s mandate includes raising awareness of the value of insurance reciprocals and representing its members’ interests to governments, and others.The founding members include:

• the MEARIE Group;
• Ontario Municipal Insurance Exchange;
• Canadian Universities Reciprocal Insurance Exchange;
• Ontario School Boards’ Insurance Exchange; and
• Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada.

At its first board meeting on Nov. 1, 2010, the association elected its executive:

• Chair: Peter Flattery, president and CEO of Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada; Vice chair: Charlie Macaluso, CEO of the MEARIE Group; and
• Secretary-treasurer: Jim Sami, CEO and attorney-in-fact, Ontario School Boards’ Insurance Exchange.

Membership in the association is open to all not-for-profit insurance reciprocals that are licensed to operate in Canada. An insurance reciprocal is an unincorporated group of organizations, in a similar sector or industry, with similar risks that agree to share those risks and to share in each other’s losses. They are provincially licensed insurers and, as not-for-profit organizations, do not pay income tax or brokerage fees.