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Surprise, surprise!
I represent Golden Eagle and this is the first I have heard about it. I don’t think this is a bad thing at this point.
Agree, and it was also confusing to clients.
No brainer. It was confusing to agents where to submit business for middle market.
Any word on how many people (if any) will be RIF’ed in this phase-out? Are they closing down or consolidating any offices? Any duplication of management? I’ve heard underwriters have had to process business using any number of legacy systems. Presumably the phase-out also involves systems consolidation?
What about Safeco?
read the last paragraph
They should have retired Safeco brand too. It’s not a positive thing.
From what I hear it is a restructure/rebranding vs. downsizing of employees. Some ee’s asked to move to different areas to be closer to their agents. I think Safeco remains separate, but I’m not completely sure on that.
Nope, it is a downsizing too. Many of my friends are being laid off.
This is more for commercial accounts – Safeco is LM’s personal markets division.
I believe the strategy by Liberty to phase out the Peerless brand in the Northeast will ultimately be viewed as a poor decision by future management & board. In today’s world of buying local from strong local and regional companies, the Peerless brand will be missed. Peerless was the #1 independent agency brand for personal and commercial lines in many of the New England states whereas Liberty Mutual does not and I suggest will never share that same title. Additionally Safeco has very little name recognition in New England and the confusion amongst agents as to where to submit middle market business will continue as it does with other national carriers.
wrong
Dennis – “wrong” … that’s all you got?
I usually mention that Golden Eagle is owned by Liberty Mutual anyway. I do it to leverage all the money they have spent on branding. Sounds like a good decision to me.
Usually agents need a seperate appointment to access Liberty Mutual. I wonder if this change will be in name only or if it will give agents access to more of Liberty’s insurance programs.
CA Ins Agent – At it’s highest point, was Golden Eagle ever the top IA brand/market share in CA? Also, I have had the Liberty Mutual Middle Market appointment for a few years. We wrote a couple of large ($100K plus) accounts but were not able to be more sucessful than that. Now, as you suspect, I think all agents will have access to Liberty Middle Market.
Now if you are a Liberty Direct (employee) agent start sleeping with one eye open. There is no need for you now.
They did away with Liberty Direct agents for the most part in 2009.
It’s about scale, scale, scale – w/low interest rates, make it up on expense, while cont’g to probe for rate. Grow or die your agcy, as cheapest to hdl the big’ns & send the lesser back to up and coming regionals and start the cycle all over again!
No insurance comapny has gone out of business because of expense ratios. They have for loss ratios.
Safeco is very well respected here in Texas. One of the biggest players with very stable rates unlike some others…
Some of Liberty’s regional brands might reconsider altering their underwriting guidelines.
For example, as a referral account underwriter, we classify meat processing plants as a claims-made class of business for liability due to the tail and severity of potential claims.
I almost fell out of my chair when I saw that one of their regional brands wrote this class of business—in a BOP!
Let them write it in a BOP, and when these regional brands exit the business these insureds will be reunderwritten with the proper pricing that is commensurate with the exposures and hazards of this class of business.
Back in the day, Mission Insurance had classified Colt Firearms as a “metalworker”.
LMAO
I guess it is true. You are only as smart as your dumbest competitor.
Peerless is also in personal lines. It is not clear to me whether Liberty is retiring just the commercial lines business or the 8 regional brands entirely.
All Peerless personal lines has or will be shortly converted to Safeco.
The article says “business as usual”? If that is being in a constant state of confusion, then yes, it’s business as usual.