Sale of Echelon Insurance to CAA gets shareholder approval

Non-standard auto insurer Echelon Insurance is a step closer to being acquired by The CAA Club Group of Companies.

Shareholders of Echelon Financial Holdings Inc. voted Wednesday in favour of the $175 million deal, Echelon said in a release.

In addition to non-standard auto, Echelon’s other offerings include coverage for motorcycles, antique and classic vehicles and recreational vehicles, commercial  property, long-haul trucking, surety, liability and extended warranty.

The CAA Club Group of Companies includes CAA Insurance Company as well as two clubs affiliated with the Canadian Automobile Association.

CAA will not take ownership of Insurance Corporation of Prince Edward Island (ICPEI), of which Echelon Financial owns 75%. Echelon bought ICPEI in 2014 from Saskatchewan Government Insurance.

Echelon and CAA Insurance placed 15th and 19th respectively in market share in auto insurance in Canada in the 2018 Canadian Underwriter Statistical Guide.

Until 2005, 50% of Echelon Financial was owned by The Co-operators Group Ltd. and its affiliates. As of May 8, 2017, The Co-operators owned 17% of Echelon shares.

Echelon sold its United States non-standard auto insurer, American Colonial Insurance Company, in 2013.

Echelon also sold its European operations, which wrote non-standard auto through Qudos Insurance A/S of Denmark.