Economical Insurance integrating management of BC personal insurance business under wholly-owned subsidiary, Family Insurance Solutions Inc.

Vancouver, BC (Sept. 3, 2013) – Economical Insurance and Family Insurance Solutions Inc. have announced that Economical is integrating the distribution, underwriting and policy administration of all its BC personal auto and property insurance under Family Insurance Solutions. This single point of contact model in BC will eliminate duplication, increase efficiency and simplify decision-making for brokers and policyholders in the province.

“This move strengthens our commitment to the British Columbia marketplace,” said Chris Weber, vice-president of Economical’s Western Region. “On September 24, we are moving Economical’s Vancouver personal insurance underwriting function from our branch at 1055 West Georgia Street to the Family Insurance offices at 1177 West Hastings Street to begin the process of integrating Economical’s personal insurance underwriting, distribution and policy administration into Family’s operations.”

Economical’s commercial insurance book of business in BC will continue to be managed through Economical’s Vancouver office. Economical will also continue to operate Federation Insurance in the province in order to service branded and niche business.

“The Family team is excited about this transition,” said Harry Kloosterhuis, president of Family Insurance Solutions. “We are well-equipped to facilitate both personal auto and property insurance in BC. Bringing our personal insurance offerings together under one roof is much more efficient and will give us a more focused and powerful presence in the BC marketplace.”

“Given the large number of broker partners we have in BC, we will be implementing this conversion on a staggered basis,” Kloosterhuis explained. “We will be communicating with each broker three months before their conversion date to facilitate a seamless transition to our easy-to-use policy distribution system that issues policies in real time. We expect to have all our broker partners writing personal insurance business in BC with Family by September 2014.”

Conversion of Economical’s personal insurance policies will begin in January 2014 for March 2014 renewals. All insurance policies distributed by Family will continue to be underwritten by Economical Mutual Insurance Company. All claims relating to personal insurance policies distributed by Family will continue to be handled by Economical’s claims personnel at the Family location.

About Economical Insurance

Founded in 1871, Economical Insurance is one of Canada’s leading property and casualty insurers, with more than $1.7 billion in premiums and $4.7 billion in assets. Based in Waterloo, this Canadian-owned and operated group services the insurance needs of more than one million customers through 17 branches and service offices across the country. In 2010, Economical announced its decision to become the first federally-regulated mutual property and casualty insurance company to demutualize. Economical is currently reviewing strategic options and will submit a comprehensive demutualization proposal for mutual policyholder approval after the federal government’s completion of demutualization regulations.

Economical Insurance conducts business under the following brands: Economical Insurance, Economical, Western General, Economical Select, Perth Insurance, Federation Insurance and Economical Financial.

About Family Insurance Solutions Inc.

Founded in 1989 and acquired by Economical Insurance in 1999, Family Insurance Solutions is a managing general agent that provides choice for British Columbian motorists when they purchase their optional auto insurance. Family also offers personal property insurance to consumers in BC. Family’s products can be purchased through its network of more than 400 broker partners in the province. Family Insurance Solutions was selected as one of British Columbia’s top employers for 2012. It also ranked third in the most recent IBABC insurer performance survey.