The Ontario Mutuals jointly own their own reinsurance company. The Farm Mutual Reinsurance Plan Inc. (FMRP) was the first Canadian-owned reinsurance company when formed in 1959 and is one of only two Canadian-owned reinsurers in existence today.
"By pooling their resources in FMRP, small regional insurers operating in rural areas Canada-wide can participate on an equal footing with much larger players in the insurance industry".
When FMRP was formed, the Ontario Mutuals were required to cede all of their reinsurance to the FMRP and were not permitted to assume business from any other company. The new reinsurance mechanism allowed the Ontario Mutuals to eliminate much of the routine paperwork involved in reinsuring individual risks of the day.
In the subsequent years, the FMRP, a mutual company itself that is wholly owned by Canadian mutual companies within its membership, and guided by directors elected from those mutual companies, has developed into a highly sophisticated financial institution. Since 1959, through the protection provided by the FMRP, the policyholder-owned Ontario Mutuals have been able to expand their product base to accommodate the insurance needs of mutual policyholders.