Liberty reshuffles leadership, restructures P&C, sells $3.3bn life business

Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance is reorganising its property/casualty (P&C) while appointing a new chief financial officer and selling its life business for $3.3 billion.

The reorganisation of the P&C business aims at enhancing the firm’s ability to meet the changing needs of consumer and commercial customers, the company said in a Jan. 19 press release.

Global Risk Solutions (GRS) will bring together Liberty Mutual’s Global Specialty, Ironshore, National Insurance and the Global Reinsurance Strategy Group into a single ​entity.

Liberty completed the acquisition of 100 percent ownership interest in Bermuda-based specialty P&C insurer Ironshore from Chinese conglomerate Fosun International for $2.94 billion in May 2017.

The combined GRS will face the market as a unified force with global reach, a full complement of products and capabilities, and the scale needed to deliver top quality, competitively priced solutions to our customers, the company explained.

Dennis Langwell, currently Liberty Mutual’s chief financial officer, will lead GRS. Kevin Kelley, currently CEO of Ironshore, will assume the role of vice chairman, Global Risk Solutions, and report to David Long, Liberty Mutual’s CEO.

​Global Retail Markets (GRM) will combine Liberty Mutual’s existing Global Consumer Markets with its Business Insurance and Accident & Health (A & H) organizations formerly in Commercial Insurance.

​Liberty’s GRM business will offer individual motor, property and A & H products to consumers as well as commercial products.

Timothy Sweeney, currently president of Global Consumer Markets, will lead GRM.

Christopher Peirce, currently president of Global Specialty, will become Liberty’s chief financial officer.

Furthermore, Liberty Mutual entered into a definitive agreement to sell Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston, which provides group disability, group life, individual life and annuity products, to Lincoln Financial Group for approximately $3.3 billion. The companies expect to complete the transaction in the second quarter of 2018, pending regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

“The sale of the life company allows us to fully focus on our property and casualty business,” said Liberty Mutual CEO Long.

“The realignment will make it easier for our customers to access the full breadth of the personal, commercial, specialty and reinsurance products that Liberty has to offer,” he added.

Upon completion of the transaction, Lincoln Financial will retain Liberty’s group benefits business and reinsure Liberty’s Individual Life and Annuity business to Protective Life Insurance Company, according to a Jan. 19 Lincoln Financial press release.

“Through this transaction, Lincoln Financial will have a significantly increased presence in the Group Benefits market by complementing our existing small to middle-market strengths with even deeper large case and disability expertise,” said Dennis Glass, CEO of Lincoln Financial Group.

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