A partnership between two insurers has created the potential supplier of choice for First Nations communities
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TIPI Insurance Partners has partnered with IMI Brokerage Company to form the country’s largest Indigenous-owned insurance firm, providing solutions such as pension plans and group benefits formulated for Indigenous people.
Formed in 2011 through the merging of four First Nations-owned organizations, TIPI is based in Winnipeg and has a northern office in The Pas, Manitoba. The deal has roughly doubled the size of TIPI, expanding its reach from Ontario all throughout Western Canada. With this scope, it’s positioned as a supplier of choice for pension plans, group benefits, and property insurance to First Nations communities nationwide.
“We are building a financial services powerhouse that is owned by and for Indigenous people, where the benefits of ownership can flow back to our communities,” said TIPI Insurance Partners CEO Nathan Ballantyne.
The Indigenous-owned IMI Brokerage delivers life insurance, group benefits, and pension services to First Nations communities. With headquarters in Duck Lake, Saskatchewan along with four other offices in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and BC, the firm is owned by a number of progressive Saskatchewan and Alberta First Nations. Partnering with TIPI will allow IMI to expand its product offerings to include property and casualty insurance, as well as an institutional-type pension plan specially made for First Nations.
“We are bringing together two Indigenous-owned companies, giving us more capacity to grow and thrive,” said IMI President and Founder Joan Barmby-Halcro. “We can now help communities protect their band offices and schools while also giving them excellent group benefits and pension plans. This is the path for First Nations to take control over their own futures."
“Our customers are Indigenous people, their governments and businesses,” Ballantyne said. “When they do business with us, they know they're receiving good value and driving economic development for our people.”
TIPI and IMI will keep operating under their separate brands for the foreseeable future.
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Formed in 2011 through the merging of four First Nations-owned organizations, TIPI is based in Winnipeg and has a northern office in The Pas, Manitoba. The deal has roughly doubled the size of TIPI, expanding its reach from Ontario all throughout Western Canada. With this scope, it’s positioned as a supplier of choice for pension plans, group benefits, and property insurance to First Nations communities nationwide.
“We are building a financial services powerhouse that is owned by and for Indigenous people, where the benefits of ownership can flow back to our communities,” said TIPI Insurance Partners CEO Nathan Ballantyne.
The Indigenous-owned IMI Brokerage delivers life insurance, group benefits, and pension services to First Nations communities. With headquarters in Duck Lake, Saskatchewan along with four other offices in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and BC, the firm is owned by a number of progressive Saskatchewan and Alberta First Nations. Partnering with TIPI will allow IMI to expand its product offerings to include property and casualty insurance, as well as an institutional-type pension plan specially made for First Nations.
“We are bringing together two Indigenous-owned companies, giving us more capacity to grow and thrive,” said IMI President and Founder Joan Barmby-Halcro. “We can now help communities protect their band offices and schools while also giving them excellent group benefits and pension plans. This is the path for First Nations to take control over their own futures."
“Our customers are Indigenous people, their governments and businesses,” Ballantyne said. “When they do business with us, they know they're receiving good value and driving economic development for our people.”
TIPI and IMI will keep operating under their separate brands for the foreseeable future.
Related stories:
Ottawa facing court action over denied dental claim
NDP, Tories call for increased healthcare funding for First Nations and Inuit youth
