ING To Sell Chile P/C Operations to Liberty Mutual

The Netherlands’ ING Group announced that it has signed an agreement to sell ING Chile’s property & casualty insurance operation, ING Seguros Generales, to the Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. ING said the sale would have no “material impact for the Group.” It is expected to be completed by May 2005. ING’s wholesale banking operation in Chile is not affected by the transaction.

Liberty said: “The new operations will increase the property and casualty market share of Liberty Seguros, Liberty Mutual’s Chilean company, to nearly 10 percent.” The company offers a full range of property and casualty products for commercial and personal customers. Liberty first entered the Chilean market in 2004 when it purchased the insurance operations of AGF Allianz Chile S.A.

“This is a significant addition to our operations in Chile and further demonstrates the importance of Latin America to our overall global strategy,” commented Liberty’s Chairman, President and CEO Edmund F. Kelly. “We intend to increase our presence in attractive markets, and together these operations position us well to serve the increasing commercial and personal insurance needs in Chile.”

ING said the transaction is part of its “ongoing global strategy to actively manage its portfolio, and focus on core activities. Because ING Chile does not have a scaled position in the property & casualty market, ING determined it would be more efficient to focus resources on its core life insurance, health insurance, and pension lines of business.”

The bulletin noted that ING Chile currently has a 14 percent market share in the life insurance market, a 21 percent market share in the health insurance market, and a 14 percent market share in the pension market.

Topics Property Casualty