Liberty Mutual’s Guangdong Branch Opens for Business

The Liberty Mutual Group announced that its provincial branch in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province in China has “commenced operations and issued its first insurance policy on December 2, 2011.”

Liberty received the approval for the branch from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) for its wholly owned subsidiary, Liberty Insurance Company Limited (LICL), on November 17, 2011. The company is headquartered in Chongqing. LICL received CIRC approval in March this year “to prepare for a provincial branch in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province — the largest property and casualty insurance market in China,” said the bulletin.

It also noted that “Liberty Mutual is the first foreign property and casualty company focusing on the customer segments of personal lines and small-to-medium enterprises to serve Guangdong’s almost 100 million consumers as well as its commercial and industrial organizations. With a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$702 billion, Guangdong is China’s largest provincial economy.”

Liberty now has four operations in China: Chongqing in western China, Beijing in northern China, Zhejiang in eastern China and Guangdong in southern China. As of October 31, 2011, the company had 93,000 auto policyholders in these markets and ranked the 2nd largest among 20 foreign property and casualty insurance companies operating in China.

Group President and CEO David Long commented: “Liberty Mutual’s strategy of being the first foreign insurer to enter large markets in China continues to be the key to our success. CIRC’s approval of our Guangdong branch demonstrates our commitment to providing quality insurance in China and reinforces our reputation as a strong global company.”

Source: Liberty Mutual Group

Topics China Property Casualty