Liberty Mutual facts for kids
Liberty Mutual Insurance's logo, featuring the Statue of Liberty
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Liberty Mutual's main office in Boston
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| Mutual. Private | |
| Industry | Insurance |
| Founded | July 1, 1912 (as Massachusetts Employees Insurance Association) |
| Headquarters |
175 Berkeley Street
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Boston, Massachusetts U.S.
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Timothy M. Sweeney (President and CEO) |
| Services | Property and Casualty Insurance |
| Revenue |  $48.2 billion (2021) |
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Operating income
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 $1.282 billion (2019) |
| $3.068 billion (2021) |
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| Total assets | $156.043 billion (2021) |
| Total equity | $27.848 billion (2021) |
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Number of employees
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45,000+ (2021) |
Liberty Mutual Insurance Company is a large American insurance company that works all over the world. It is one of the biggest companies for property and casualty insurance, which covers things like homes, cars, and businesses. It is also one of the top 100 largest companies in the United States.
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Liberty Mutual has the Statue of Liberty on its logo. More than 45,000 people work for the company in over 900 places around the world. As of December 31, 2021, Liberty Mutual Insurance had over $156 billion in total assets and earned $48.2 billion in revenue that year.
The company started in 1912. It offers many different types of insurance. This includes insurance for personal cars and homes, workers' compensation (which helps employees if they get hurt at work), and insurance for businesses.
Liberty Mutual Group owns parts of or all of local insurance companies in many countries. These include Brazil, Chile, China (including Hong Kong), Colombia, Ecuador, India, Ireland, Malaysia, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.
In the United States, Liberty Mutual is a mutual company. This means its customers who have insurance policies are like owners of the company. Outside the U.S., Liberty Mutual often works through separate companies because the rules for mutual companies can be different in other countries.
The current CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Liberty Mutual is Timothy M. Sweeney. He took over this role on January 1, 2023.
Contents
Company History
How Liberty Mutual Started
Liberty Mutual began in 1912. It was first called the Massachusetts Employees Insurance Association (MEIA). This happened after a law was passed in Massachusetts in 1911. The law said that employers had to protect their workers with workers’ compensation insurance.
The company was set up as a mutual company. This means that the people who buy insurance from the company also own it. In 1914, the first branch office opened. That same year, the company sold its first automobile insurance policy. In 1917, the company changed its name to Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. It then started offering full car insurance policies through partnerships.
Changes in Company Structure
In 1964, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company started offering life insurance. In 2002, the company changed its structure to become a mutual holding company. This new structure allowed it to offer stock while still being owned by its policyholders.
Some customers were worried about this change. They thought it might reduce their say in the company. However, the plan was approved by the customers who voted in November 2001. With this new structure, Liberty Mutual grew from a small, regional company to one of the world's leading insurance companies.
How Liberty Mutual Grew
Liberty Mutual has grown by both expanding its own business and by buying other companies. In 2008, Liberty Mutual bought a well-known company called Safeco Corporation for about $6.2 billion. This helped Liberty Mutual's earnings grow a lot, from $6 billion to over $30 billion in twelve years. In 1999, the company also bought Wausau Insurance Cos.
Liberty Mutual has also been involved in advertising and sponsorships. In 2006, they made a television commercial showing people helping others. This led to them creating a website called The Responsibility Project. Liberty Mutual also sponsors the long-running PBS show American Experience. In 2011, they had new commercials featuring historical figures like Sacagawea and Paul Revere.
In 2011, the company started building the Liberty Mutual Tower. This is a 22-story skyscraper that expanded their main office. The building was finished in June 2013.
In May 2017, Liberty Mutual Insurance bought Ironshore Inc. for $2.93 billion. In October 2019, they bought Nationale Borg and AmTrust Insurance Spain, which are companies that provide credit and surety reinsurance.
In July 2021, Liberty agreed to buy State Auto Group for over $2 billion. In August 2022, Liberty bought AmGeneral Insurance Berhad, an insurance company in Malaysia.
How Liberty Mutual is Organized
Liberty Mutual runs its business through two main parts: US Retail Markets and Global Risk Solutions.
US Retail Markets
This part of Liberty Mutual offers insurance for cars, homes, life, and other property and casualty products in the U.S. These products are sold under the Liberty Mutual Insurance and Safeco names. You can buy them from over 2,300 sales people, through call centers, from other insurance agents, or on the company's website. More than 10,000 insurance agencies across the U.S. sell Safeco products.
Global Risk Solutions
This part of the company offers insurance for businesses and special products. This includes insurance for things like ships (marine), energy, airplanes (aviation), and managing big problems (crisis management). These are offered through 40 Liberty International Underwriters offices around the world. This group also provides reinsurance, which is insurance for other insurance companies, through Liberty Mutual Reinsurance.
Companies Owned by Liberty Mutual
Liberty Mutual owns many other companies, including:
- 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 Mutual Agency Corporation, which includes:
- 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 (bought in 2022)
- Ironshore (bought in 2016)
- Peerless Insurance
Safety Research at Liberty Mutual
The Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety was started in 1954. It studied how to keep workers safe and healthy. This institute helped create guidelines for machine safety and ideas for making workplaces more comfortable and safe (ergonomics). These ideas helped create national and international safety rules.
The scientists at the institute did experiments to find out what caused work-related injuries and disabilities. They shared their findings in scientific papers. Their work helped create safety programs and tools that Liberty Mutual used to help its customers make their workplaces safer. The institute's work was available to everyone.
The institute closed in May 2017.
Advertising Campaigns
Liberty Mutual uses different characters and ideas in its commercials.
LiMu Emu is a character that appears in some of Liberty Mutual's ads since 2019. LiMu is a real emu, but also uses computer-generated images. LiMu is often with a character named Doug, who tries to keep LiMu from being too silly. Sometimes, LiMu and Doug meet with a potential customer in an office.
Since February 9, 2023, Liberty Mutual has started advertising as "Liberty" at the end of its commercials.
Tanner Novlan has also been in several commercials. He plays a "struggling actor" who has trouble remembering the company's name, often saying funny things like "Liberty Bibberty."
Many commercials are filmed on a deck that looks out over the New York Harbor. In the background, you can see the famous Statue of Liberty.
