Our Story

Our vision is a province in which communities not only have the means to grow, but also the freedom to thrive, enriching the lives of British Columbians in the process.

Our mission is to provide dependable support that helps keep communities vibrant and alive, through stable liability and property insurance, outreach programs and expert advice.

The MIABC’s guiding principles reflect how our organization, staff and members work to deliver the promise of our mission and the potential of our vision. Our four guiding principles are:

• Membership has both benefits and responsibilities.
• We serve every member equally and uniquely.
• Our principles precede profit.
• From partnership, comes power.

We were formed in 1987 by 144 local governments who could not find reasonable insurance coverage.

In the mid-1980s, local governments in this province were facing a crisis. Liability insurance premiums had increased five-fold for many of B.C.’s local governments, deductibles were soaring, and policy limits were falling. Most concerning was the lack of available coverage for certain major liability exposures.

It seemed that the only options were either to increase taxes or accept insufficient coverage. Seeing that the solution was not going to emerge from private industry, the communities in B.C. turned to each other for support. The Union of B.C. Municipalities created a task force that returned with the recommendation to establish a self-insurance pooling program, resulting in the creation of the MIABC in 1987.