Another insurance company has decided to withdraw from the Alberta personal auto insurance market: CUMIS General Insurance Company will exit the market on Jan. 1, 2026. 

The company cited “ongoing challenges in Alberta's auto insurance market, including rising cost of auto claims” as the reason for its decision. The province’s Superintendent of Insurance has been informed of the insurer’s intent. 

The company also announced its withdrawal from home insurance. Until the end of the year, CUMIS will continue to offer policy renewals, but as of Jan. 1, 2026, it will no longer provide quotes or renewals. 

Policies in force will remain valid until they expire. Policyholders will receive the necessary information before the end of their contract term to obtain new coverage. 

CUMIS added that claims handling will not be affected by the decision, and that all claims will be processed and settled according to the terms of the policy. 

Other CUMIS products and services in Alberta are not affected, and the auto and home insurance program will remain available in other provinces. 

Home insurance also being phased out 

Why is CUMIS also exiting the home insurance market? The release announcing the withdrawal explains that “the CUMIS auto and home insurance program was designed to meet the needs of credit unions and their members. Our program promotes convenience and savings by bundling home and auto insurance protection together.” 

“That is why it was deemed appropriate to exit both markets,” added spokesperson Karen Adderley. 

Co-operators 

CUMIS is a subsidiary of The Co-operators Group. In its most recent management report for the quarter ending June 30, 2025, Co-operators stated the following in the section on risk management: “The regulatory environment and other factors in Alberta also present specific challenges to maintaining auto profitability, adding another layer of complexity to the industry's landscape.” 

Does CUMIS’s withdrawal from the Alberta market mean Co-operators might follow suit? When asked by Insurance Portal, Adderley clarified: “This decision by CUMIS General does not signal any intent or plans for Co-operators General Insurance Company (CGIC) or any of our other subsidiaries to withdraw from the Alberta home and auto insurance market. There are no changes to CGIC’s product offerings or market presence as a result of this decision.” 

According to a spokesperson for Alberta’s Finance Minister Nate Horner, CUMIS represents only 0.1 per cent of the auto insurance market in the province. 

The Alberta situation 

Since 2023, the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has been raising concerns about the regulatory environment governing auto insurance in Alberta. Aaron Sutherland, IBC’s Vice-President for the Pacific and Western regions, has been vocal on the issue. 

Claims costs and litigation expenses are particularly high in the province, Sutherland noted in the first quarter of 2024. In September 2024, he pointed out that the extremely high volume of vehicle damage claims following the August 5, 2024 hailstorm in the Calgary region could prompt even more insurers to leave the province. 

On Sept.12, 2025, IBC made the same warning regarding another hailstorm that struck the Calgary area on July 13. Sutherland used the opportunity to reiterate the industry’s call for the removal of the cap on auto insurance premiums. 

The cap imposed by the Alberta government on premium increases is the main point of criticism from insurance companies. The province’s broker lobby group also publicly raised the issue during the summer of 2025. 

During a second-quarter earnings call with financial analysts, Guillaume Lamy, Executive Vice-President of Personal Insurance at Intact Financial Corporation, said “the main issue remains the rate cap that’s not linked to the overall claims inflation and that affected profitability of the renewal portfolio. That’s a continuation of the trend we talked about in the past, and the solution is clear there, the cap really has to be removed”. 

Other provinces, including Ontario, have begun reforming the regulatory framework in response to premium hikes imposed on drivers by insurers. 

Other precedents 

Several insurance companies have already withdrawn from Alberta’s auto insurance market. Zenith Insurance was the first to do so in 2023, followed by S&Y Insurance Company in 2024. 

Direct writer Sonnet, a subsidiary of Definity Financial Corporation, announced its exit in June 2024 and ceased writing auto insurance in the province as of Dec. 13, 2024. In July 2024, Aviva Canada announced that its direct-to-consumer subsidiary Aviva Direct would also exit the market, effective January 2025. That withdrawal also included home insurance. 

However, CUMIS is the first company to exit since the passage of Bill 47 in May 2025. The legislation aims primarily to promote quicker resolution of claims involving accidents that required hospitalization. 

The regulations, which have not yet been released and will define how the market will operate, are scheduled to come into effect in January 2027.