Intact Financial Corporation
We have successfully evolved into this country's largest provider of property and casualty insurance. Although the company did not exist by its current name until 2009, we can trace our roots in Canada back almost 200 years, with the establishment of the Halifax Fire Insurance Association, which eventually became the Halifax Insurance Company
In the late 1950s, Nationale-Nederlander, then one of the largest insurance companies in the Netherlands, followed a large contingent of Dutch nationals who were emigrating for Canada. In order to serve them in their new country they acquired the Halifax Insurance Company.
Three more leading regional insurance companies were purchased in the late 1970s - Commerce Group, Belair in Quebec and Western Union in Alberta. These companies continued over the years to operate as separate entities.
In 1991, Nationale-Nederlander merged with NMB Postbank to create ING Groep, which was at the time one of the first bankassurance groups in the world.
Due to the growth of Canadian activities, operations were brought together under the direction of a holding company in 1993, known as ING Canada.
Over the years, Halifax Insurance Company ,Commerce Group and Western Union were merged to become ING Insurance, which is now called Intact Insurance.
2004 was a milestone year for us. Following the acquisition of the property and casualty business of Allianz of Canada, we launched an IPO in December and began trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with ING Groep retaining 70% ownership.
Earlier this year we became a Canadian-listed and controlled company when ING Group agreed to sell a minimum of $850 million of its common shares to certain institutional investors on a private placement basis and separately sold an additional $900 million of its common shares pursuant to a public offering in Canada. On February 23, 2009, ING Insurance Company of Canada became Intact Insurance Company and now operates under the Intact Insurance brand name.
Today, we are the largest provider of property and casualty insurance in Canada with more than $4 billion in direct premiums written. We offer both personal and commercial insurance. Our personal insurance business lines (automobile and property) account for approximately 70% of our direct premiums, while commercial insurance accounts for the remaining 30%. Automobile insurance comprises roughly 55% of total direct premiums written for all lines.
Approximately 80% of our products are distributed through a nation-wide network of insurance brokers, while the rest are sold directly to consumers through call centres and the Internet.
