Liberty Mutual Receives China Approval to Open Zhejiang Branch

January 7, 2010

Liberty Mutual Group, through its wholly owned subsidiary Liberty Insurance Company Limited (LICL), has been granted approval to establish a branch in Zhejiang by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC).

Liberty Mutual’s Chinese operations are headquartered in Chongqing. The CIRC gave its approval last month for Liberty to prepare for a provincial branch in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province – the third-largest property and casualty insurance market in China.

Liberty Mutual said it would be “the first foreign property and casualty company to operate in Zhejiang, a province of over 47 million people located 700 miles south of Beijing on China’s southeastern coast. The Zhejiang operation joins the company’s two current operations in China – located in Chongqing and Beijing – in offering personal lines products and a wide range of commercial lines products that focus on the needs of small-to-medium enterprises.”

Chairman, President and CEO Edmund F. Kelly commented: “The continued success of our strategy in China reinforces Liberty Mutual’s reputation as a leading foreign property and casualty insurer among consumers. CIRC’s approval of our third location is testament to our reputation and we thank them for their decision. We are pleased that they share our view of Zhejiang as a market with strong insurance growth potential and we look forward to entering this dynamic region.”

The bulletin also summarized the company’s past history in the Chinese market as follows: Liberty Mutual, through its Chinese subsidiary, China Liberty Mutual, has had a presence in China since 1996 when it opened a Representative Office in Shanghai. In January 2004, the company received approval to open its first insurance office in Chongqing, positioning Liberty Mutual as the first foreign property and casualty insurer with a presence in western China. In September 2007, Liberty Mutual received approval to have its Chongqing operation converted to a wholly owned subsidiary, which it named Liberty Insurance Company Limited – the only Fortune 500 company subsidiary headquartered in Chongqing.

In February 2009, Liberty Mutual further expanded its presence by becoming the first U.S. property and casualty carrier operating in China to receive approval to operate a Beijing branch.

Source: Liberty Mutual Group – www.libertymutualgroup.com

Topics Property China Property Casualty Casualty

Was this article valuable?

Here are more articles you may enjoy.