­Red River Mutual’s 81st Annual General Meeting took place on April 13, 2022.

Financial Growth

Our President & CEO, Brian Esau, shared that the 2021 fiscal year was the most profitable year in the history of our company. Our Gross Written Premium grew by 30% to $182.8 million, and we reported pre-tax underwriting income of $9.0 million. With strong pre-tax investment income of $9.5 million, we recorded $18.5 million in pre-tax income. As a result, we are pleased to report net income of $14.3 million, bringing our equity to a strong position of $118.4 million.

Our Chair of the Board of Directors, Garth Reimer, also provided an update on financials in his report.

“Future excellence and stability are driven largely by growth, and it is this type of steady progression that the Board of Directors values so highly,” said Garth. “With last year’s growth, we are now approaching $200 million in annual premiums, and we have every reason to believe that we will surpass that target soon.”

AM Best also renewed our A- (excellent) rating with a stable outlook, which speaks to the financial strength of our company.

Innovation

Along with growing financially, we have also continued to strive for innovation. Brian shared that we established a Data & Analytics team to enhance our approach to understanding our policyholders and their needs, and we embarked on a significant upgrade to our core insurance operating systems, which is expected to conclude in 2022.

Garth also provided an update on goals our Board of Directors will work towards this year based on results of last year, such as spending considerable time learning from leading industry professionals about climate change, to better understand the needs of policyholders now and in future.

Community

Our policyholders and communities are a huge part of what we do and in 2021 we continued our Spruce Up Your Story initiative, providing $150,000 to 10 communities, ranging from small, rural towns to larger, urban centres across Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

“Our success is not ours alone,” said Brian. “It comes from being part of a mutual ecosystem that shares the benefits and challenges of the entire community of stakeholders.”

At Red River Mutual, we emphasize that “Your Story is Ours to Protect,” and we don’t take that honour lightly. We are grateful for a strong 2021 and look forward to serving you in 2022 and beyond.

Read the Chair of the Board of Directors’ and President & CEO’s full messages, get further updates on our innovation and community initiatives, and see our full financial highlights in our 2021 Annual Report linked here.

Election Results

Incumbent candidates elected for a three-year term were Catherine Kloepfer, and Monique Vielfaure Mackenzie, ending April 2025.

New candidate for the Board, John Proven, was also elected for a three-year term, ending April 2025.

You can see our full list of Board of Directors here.

Pricewaterhousecoopers was elected as auditors for Red River Mutual for the 2022 fiscal year ending December 31, 2022, and thereafter until the close of the next Annual General Meeting of Red River Mutual in 2023.

Garth Reimer also shared that our longest serving Director, Frank Friesen, is retiring from his position on the Board of Directors after 21 years of involvement.