The Co-operators is a Canadian multiline insurance and financial services co-operative owned by 45 other member co-operativeswith more than $42.5 billion in assets under administration.

In addition to providing property/casualty, life and financial products to members, the group also has MGAs in both the life and P/C sectors.

The mission of The Co-operators is to provide financial security and peace of mind for Canadians and Canadian communities.

“We recognize this can only be accomplished by owning and securing our own financial future,” Peter Primdahl, VP of Emerging Business Models for The Co-operators, told CM Guest Editor Mike Fitzgerald.

“Along with maintaining viability, we also support social good by focusing on environmental and community issues such as flood safety and sustainability, mental health initiatives, and distraction-free driving. Specific to insurance, we are very focused on addressing unmet or underserved protection needs,” he said.

Primdahl is also the leader of Duuo, the digital insurance platform through which The Co-operators launched on-demand pay-per-use insurance products. The first of these, Duuo by Co-operators, a pay-per-use homeshare insurance product launched in September 2018.

Like The Co-operators, which was founded in 1945 by a small group of farmers and social pioneers who felt traditional insurance didn’t meet their unique needs, “Duuo is the 21st century version of this mindset,” the Duuo website says. “We created a new way to meet the ever-changing insurance needs of Canadians living and working in a highly innovative and fast-paced digital economy.”