Early history Liberty insurance company
Liberty Mutual was founded in 1912 as the Massachusetts Employees’ Insurance company Association (MEIA), following passage of a Massachusetts state law requiring employers to protect their employees with workers’ compensation insurance in 1911.The first branch office was opened in 1914, and later that year, the company wrote its first automobile insurance policy. The company was founded as a Massachusetts Mutual Company, where its insureds have ownership in the company. The name was changed in 1917 to the Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, and through partnerships, the company began offering full-coverage auto policies.
Structural changes
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In 1964, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company began offering life insurance through its Liberty Life Assurance Branch. In 2002, the company converted into its current mutual holding companystructure. The conversion was controversial, as it proposed to give policyholders an interest in the mutual insurance company, which some policyholders believed would dilute their interest in the overall company and limit their dividends. A lawsuit was filed, alleging that information provided to policyholders was misleading. Liberty Mutual settled the lawsuit in December 2001, which required additional disclosure and limited certain compensation to company officers and directors. Despite these concerns, the plan was approved by voting policyholders around November 2001. Leveraging the greater flexibility of the mutual company structure, Liberty Mutual transformed from a single-line, highly-regional insurer to one of the world's leading property and casualty insurance company.
Growth and acquisitions
Liberty Mutual's growth has been both organic and through acquisition. Early acquisitions were small, but Liberty Mutual has made several large acquisitions over the past decade, including the high-profile acquisition of Safeco Corporation in 2008. Liberty Mutual agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Safeco for $68.25 per share, for a total transaction price of approximately $6.2 billion. The result of this activity was an increase in revenue from $6 billion to over $30 billion in twelve years.
Liberty Mutual created a television commercial in 2006 about people doing good things for strangers, reporting that the "overwhelming" positive response they received for the ad led to their decision to create the website The Responsibility Project.
Liberty Mutual is also the sole corporate sponsor of the long-running PBS documentary series, American Experience, and has produced special commercial messages for airing during American Experience broadcasts. In 2011, as part of the company's "Real America" campaign, the company introduced two new commercials featuring Sacagawea and Paul Revere.
In 2011, the company began construction on the Liberty Mutual Tower, a 22-story skyscraper as part of its World Headquarters Expansion Project. The building received its certificate of occupancy in June 2013.
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