Liberty Mutual joins exits: ends business owners’ line in California

Liberty Mutual Insurance plans to cease offering business owner’s policies (BOP) in California, joining other major insurers that are pulling back from the wildfire-prone stressed jurisdiction.

A spokesperson for the company told Intelligent Insurer that “Liberty Mutual will no longer offer a Businessowners Policy (BOP) product in California, and we will not renew our current book of this line of business beginning in December.”

The BOP represents a “small line of business” for Liberty and less than 1% of the overall commercial multi-peril insurance market in California, the spokesperson noted.

The insurer views it as an unviable line that no longer fulfils its aspirations effectively.

“We regularly assess our position in every market to ensure we are delivering competitive, innovative products that meet our customer needs while achieving our business goals. Sometimes that results in a determination that a product is no longer effectively delivering on those aspirations, and we must retire that line,” the company explained.

Liberty Mutual stated that it will remain committed to the California commercial insurance market, and continue to offer other insurance products for small businesses throughout the state.

Earlier this month, Liberty Mutual announced a strategic restructuring of its business in order to concentrate on US personal and small commercial lines to boost profitability.  The company will cut approximately 370 US jobs across all functionsas a result of this move.

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