Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
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Liberty Mutual Group is an American diversified global insurer and the sixth-largest property and casualty insurer in the United States. It ranks 71st on the
Fortune 100 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along w ...
list of largest corporations in the United States based on 2020 revenue. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, and featuring the
Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
(formally ''Liberty Enlightening the World'') on its logo, it employs over 45,000 people in more than 900 locations throughout the world. As of December 31, 2021, Liberty Mutual Insurance had $156.043 billion in consolidated assets, $128.195 billion in consolidated liabilities and $48.2 billion in annual consolidated revenue. The company, founded in 1912, offers a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, workers' compensation, commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, general liability, global specialty, group disability,
fire insurance Property insurance provides protection against most risks to property, such as fire, theft and some weather damage. This includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance, or bo ...
and
surety In finance, a surety , surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pay ...
. Liberty Mutual Group owns, wholly or in part, local insurance companies in Argentina, Brazil, Chile,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(including Hong Kong),
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, Ecuador, India, Ireland, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Venezuela and Vietnam. In the United States, Liberty Mutual remains a mutual company in which policyholders holding contracts for insurance are considered shareholders in the company. However, Liberty Mutual Group's brand usually operates as a separate entity outside the United States, where a
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
is often created in countries where legally recognized mutual-company benefits cannot be enjoyed. The current CEO is
David H. Long David H. Long (born 1961 in Liverpool) is an American and British businessman who was the CEO and chairman of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group until his retirement at the end of 2022. In September 2014 the Obama administration announced its intenti ...
. He succeeded his predecessor Edmund (Ted) F. Kelly on June 29, 2011. Kelly was appointed CEO in 1998, and stepped down from the Board of Directors as chairman in April, 2013.


History


Early history

Liberty Mutual was founded in 1912 as the Massachusetts Employees Insurance Association (MEIA), following passage of a 1911 Massachusetts law requiring employers to protect their employees with workers’ compensation insurance. The company was founded as a mutual company, a structure in which an insurance company is owned by its policyholders. The first branch office was opened in 1914, and later that year, the company wrote its first automobile insurance policy. The name was changed in 1917 to the Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and, through partnerships, the company began offering full-coverage auto policies.


Structural changes

In 1964, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company began offering life insurance through its Liberty Life Assurance Branch. In 2002, the company converted into its current
mutual holding company A mutual organization, or mutual society is an organization (which is often, but not always, a company or business) based on the principle of mutuality and governed by private law. Unlike a true cooperative, members usually do not contribute t ...
structure, which would allow it to offer
stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...
while remaining a mutual company. The conversion was controversial, as some policyholders believed the change would dilute their interest in the overall company, reduce their voting control, and limit their dividends. A
lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
was filed, alleging that information provided to policyholders was misleading. Liberty Mutual settled the lawsuit in December 2001, which required additional disclosure and limited certain compensation to company officers and directors. Despite these concerns, the plan was approved by voting policyholders around November 2001. Leveraging the greater flexibility of the mutual holding company structure, Liberty Mutual transformed from a single-line, highly regional insurer to one of the world's leading property and casualty insurance companies.


Growth and acquisitions

Liberty Mutual's growth has been both organic and through acquisition. Early acquisitions were small, but Liberty Mutual has made several large acquisitions over the past decade, including the high-profile acquisition of Safeco Corporation in 2008. Liberty Mutual agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Safeco for $68.25 per share, for a total transaction price of approximately $6.2 billion. The result of this activity was an increase in revenue from $6 billion to over $30 billion in twelve years. In 1999, the company purchased Wausau Insurance Cos. Liberty Mutual created a 2006 television commercial depicting people doing good for others, reporting that the "overwhelming" positive response led to its decision to create the website ''The Responsibility Project''. Liberty Mutual is the sole corporate sponsor of the long-running PBS documentary series '' American Experience''. In 2011, as part of the company's "Real America" campaign, the company introduced two new commercials featuring
Sacagawea Sacagawea ( or ; also spelled Sakakawea or Sacajawea; May – December 20, 1812 or April 9, 1884)Sacagawea
...
and Paul Revere. In 2011, the company began construction of the Liberty Mutual Tower, a 22-story
skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
as part a headquarters expansion project. The building received its
certificate of occupancy Certificate may refer to: * Birth certificate * Marriage certificate * Death certificate * Gift certificate * Certificate of authenticity, a document or seal certifying the authenticity of something * Certificate of deposit, or CD, a financial pro ...
in June 2013. In May 2017, Liberty Mutual Insurance completed its acquisition of Bermuda-based Ironshore Inc. from Fosun International Limited for $2.93 billion. In October 2019, Liberty Mutual acquired Nationale Borg, Nationale Borg Reinsurance and AmTrust Insurance Spain, which are credit and surety reinsurance subsidiaries of AmTrust Financial Services. In July 2021, Liberty agreed to acquire State Auto Group for over $2 billion. In August 2022, Liberty acquired AmGeneral Insurance Berhad, a Malaysia insurance company.


Organizational structure


Strategic business units

Liberty Mutual conducts all of its business through four strategic business units: US Consumer Markets, Commercial Insurance, Global Consumer Markets and Global Specialty.


US Consumer Markets

Passenger automobile, homeowners, life, annuity and other property and casualty insurance products are available via Liberty Mutual's US Consumer Markets line. These products are branded under the Liberty Mutual Insurance and Safeco names, and are distributed via a network of more than 2,300 sales professionals. Other distribution means are call centers, third-party producers and the company's own website. Over 10,000 insurance agencies across the U.S. carry Safeco-branded products.


Commercial insurance

Property and casualty, as well as group benefits commercial insurance products, fall into two distinct categories: Business Insurance and National Insurance. The former caters to businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees, while the latter serves businesses in specific industries or with more than 1,000 employees. Group-benefits products include
disability insurance Disability Insurance, often called DI or disability income insurance, or income protection, is a form of insurance that insures the beneficiary's earned income against the risk that a disability creates a barrier for completion of core work func ...
and group life insurance.


Global Consumer Markets

Localized insurance companies sell Liberty International's products in 18 countries and markets. International products are offered to both individual and business customers, and include property and casualty insurance as well as health and life insurance products. The largest international product offering is passenger automobile insurance for private individuals.


Global Specialty

The Global Specialty insurance line offers specialty products, such as marine, energy, aviation, professional liability and crisis management, offered through 40 Liberty International Underwriters offices worldwide. In addition, Liberty International Underwriters provides global multi-line insurance and reinsurance written on its
Lloyd's Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gove ...
Syndicate 4472 platform. Global Specialty also includes reinsurance products offered through Liberty Mutual Reinsurance.


Subsidiary companies

* Helmsman Management Services * Liberty County Mutual Insurance Company * Liberty International Underwriters (LIU) * Liberty Mutual Surety (LMS) * Liberty Mutual Reinsurance (LMR) * Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM) *
Liberty Seguros Liberty Seguros is an international subsidiary of Liberty Mutual Group, a Boston-based insurance company. Sponsorships Liberty Seguros sponsored the UCI ProTour cycling team, Liberty Seguros – Würth, but dropped the sponsorship on 25 May 20 ...
* Liberty Mutual Agency Corporation ** American Fire & Casualty ** America First Insurance ** Colorado Casualty ** Consolidated Insurance Company ** Golden Eagle Insurance ** Indiana Insurance ** Liberty Mutual Surety ** Liberty Surety First ** Montgomery Insurance ** Ohio Casualty ** Ohio Security ** West American ** Peerless Insurance ** Safeco **
State Auto Mutual Insurance Companies State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
(acquired in 2022) **
Ironshore Ironshore Inc. provides broker-sourced specialty property and casualty insurance coverages for varying risks on a global basis through its platforms in Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Singapore, the United States and the United Kingdom. On D ...
(acquired in 2016) * Peerless Insurance


Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety

Founded in 1954, the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety studied the
occupational safety and health Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wor ...
of workers. Its scientific contributions include machine safeguarding guidelines, the Cornell-Liberty Survival Car and ergonomic guidelines that have informed the basis for national and international safety standards. More recently, the institute developed the Workplace Safety Index, an annual ranking of the leading causes of the most disabling
occupational injuries An occupational injury is bodily damage resulting from working. The most common organs involved are the spine, hands, the head, lungs, eyes, skeleton, and skin. Occupational injuries can result from exposure to occupational hazards ( physic ...
in the U.S. The institute's scientists conducted field and laboratory experiments to study the major causes of work-related injury and disability, publishing their results in
peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...
scientific literature. Institute findings are the basis for safety programs, recommendations and software used by Liberty Mutual loss-control consultants to help policyholders enhance worker safety. The institute’s work was non-proprietary and available to the public. The institute closed in May 2017.


Controversy

In 2006, Liberty Mutual employees in the Los Angeles area sued, claiming that the company had failed to pay their overtime salaries. They attempted to certify a class-action suit, but it was dismissed on technical grounds. In late 2012, the company won an appeal granting it the ability to not pay employees for work performed on an overtime basis. Liberty Mutual relied on an ''amicus'' brief filed on behalf of the U.S. Department of Labor. The court decided, based on the brief, that claims personnel are exempt "administrative employees" and not eligible for overtime pay. In late 2012, the
Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...
depublished a contrary decision on the same issue. In 2012 and 2013, '' The Boston Globe'' published a series of articles concerning Liberty Mutual executives' excessive compensation and weekend trips using the company's fleet of five long-range corporate jets.


Advertising

LiMu
Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...
, a character that is represented using a real emu as well as through CGI, appears in some of Liberty Mutual's advertising. LiMu is also accompanied by Doug who tries to keep LiMu from acting up. Doug is played by acto
David Hoffman
https://nypost.com/2021/08/06/limu-emu-doug-actor-on-his-newfound-fame/ Retrieved November 3rd 2021


References


External links

* {{Authority control Insurance companies of the United States Mutual insurance companies of the United States American companies established in 1912 Financial services companies established in 1912 Companies based in Boston 1912 establishments in Massachusetts.