The Co-operators acquires Ontario brokerage Browning Insurance Ltd.

Co-operators General Insurance Company announced on Monday that its wholly-owned subsidiary has purchased Browning Insurance Ltd., based in Chatham, Ont.

Details of the purchase were not immediately disclosed.

Brokerage Browning Insurance’s portfolio includes personal and commercial insurance policies as well as financial services, such as retirement and investment planning. The Co-operators Group Limited is a Canadian-owned co-operative with more than $40 billion in assets under administration. Through its group of companies, it offers home, auto, life, group, travel, commercial and farm insurance, as well as investment products.

The Co-operators said in a statement that current clients of the brokerage will be notified of the change in ownership and their existing insurance coverage will remain in effect with no changes to their premiums or coverage for the current term of their policies. As current policies expire, clients will be offered comparable policies from The Co-operators.

“We’re pleased to be strengthening our presence and growing our agency distribution system in Chatham and across the country, which is part of our growth strategy,” said Kathy Bardswick, president and CEO of The Co-operators, in the statement. “Our new clients will benefit from the wide range of insurance and financial products, as well as the expertise, offered by Co-operators advisors.”

The purchase comes just two months after The Co-operators said that it was strengthening its presence in the Ottawa area with the announcement that The Co-operators’ wholly owned subsidiary had purchased Carleton Insurance Brokers Ltd. for an undisclosed amount.

The purchase also comes five months after The Co-operators announced that it had purchased a majority interest in The Edge Benefits, a Newmarket, Ont.-based company that provides self-employed and small business owners with lifestyle protection and complex living benefits solutions. The current management team remained in place and The Edge Benefits continued to operate independently.