Trisura to form new Canadian insurance holding company

Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company has announced that it is forming Trisura Group Ltd., a new Canadian insurance holding company.

Trisura Guarantee is currently owned 60% by Brookfield Asset Management and 40% by Trisura employees through a holding company.

Mike George, president and CEO of Trisura Guarantee, said in a statement on Thursday that it is combining its investments in property and casualty insurance by bringing together its 60% ownership stake in Trisura Guarantee and its 100% ownership of Imagine Reinsurance to form Trisura Group Ltd., a new Canadian insurance holding company.

Brookfield then intends to dividend its ownership in Trisura Group Ltd. out to all Brookfield shareholders and take Trisura Group Ltd. public, forming a “global insurance platform that will also explore future potential insurance investment opportunities,” the statement said.

George reported in the statement that a prospectus is being filed with the securities commission with the goal of listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The transaction is expected to take several months to complete.

The ultimate owners of Trisura Guarantee (Brookfield shareholders and Trisura Guarantee employees) do not change, Trisura Guarantee management remains the same and Trisura employees will continue to own 40% of the company, the statement explained.

“Trisura Guarantee will benefit from additional access to capital, financial flexibility and Trisura Group Ltd.’s strategic focus on insurance and there will be no change in terms of how we currently conduct our business – it is business as usual and we will continue on our path of becoming the Canadian specialty lines leader working strategically with our broker force,” the statement concluded.

Trisura Guarantee works in partnership with a select broker network to provide Canadian companies with niche-oriented solutions, including specialty insurance, surety and risk solutions products.