BOSTON, Feb. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Governor Deval Patrick joined Liberty Mutual Group Chairman, President and CEO Edmund F. Kelly, as the insurance executive announced today at an event in Springfield that the Boston-based company will open a 300-person office in that city in the third quarter this year. The state's fourth largest auto insurer has signed a 10-year lease for office space on Federal Street in the STCC Park, formerly the Springfield Armory.
"The long-awaited introduction of managed competition by Governor Patrick and Insurance Commissioner Burnes demonstrates their commitment to making the state a more attractive and competitive car insurance market, and we intend to be well-positioned for growth," Mr. Kelly said during an event held in the company's new Springfield office. "Massachusetts consumers will benefit from increased choice, and the state coffers will benefit from increased employment."
The new Springfield office will host a variety of business operations, including a customer service call center to support Liberty Mutual's car and home insurance business in Massachusetts as well as the rest of the country. Other operations will include claims and legal administration.
"I am delighted that Liberty Mutual has decided to add up to 300 jobs here in Massachusetts, and specifically, here in the great city of Springfield," said Governor Patrick, whose Administration worked closely with Liberty Mutual and local officials to make the expansion a reality. "Liberty Mutual's expansion demonstrates the strength of the business environment in the Commonwealth and our commitment to economic development and job growth everywhere."
Liberty Mutual will start hiring and training for the office this spring and plans to have over 150 employees in place by year-end. The company's expectations over time are to have in excess of 300 employees in its Springfield office.
"Springfield offers us a deep pool of potential employees," Mr. Kelly said. "We look forward to opening our new office and adding to the already significant number of employees and customers we have in our home state of Massachusetts."
In anticipation of the April 1, 2008 start of managed competition, Liberty Mutual will add 30 sales positions across the state by this April, a 50 percent increase over current sales force levels. The insurer has also begun offering car insurance quotes to consumers using its new rates under managed competition. Liberty Mutual's new prices are on average 10.7 percent lower than their 2007 levels, with some Massachusetts drivers eligible for premium decreases of 35 percent or more.
In addition, Peerless Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Group company that sells exclusively through independent agents, in November 2007 became the first insurer to announce plans to enter the Massachusetts auto insurance market under managed competition. Once approved by the department of insurance, Peerless will write both car and home insurance in the state. In 1988, Peerless became the first of many companies to stop issuing new and renewal policies because of the state's malfunctioning car insurance system.
Liberty Mutual Group is the only Massachusetts insurer to offer consumers the choice of purchasing insurance through local sales representatives or independent agents, over the internet, or from a licensed sales counselor in one of its call centers.
About Liberty Mutual Group
"Helping people live safer, more secure lives" since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group (http://www.libertymutual.com) is a diversified global insurer and sixth-largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2006 direct written premium. Liberty Mutual ranks 95th on the Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. corporations, based on 2006 revenue. Liberty Mutual Group's 2007 annual consolidated revenue was $26 billion, which is 10.4 percent higher than in 2006.
The eighth-largest auto and home insurer in the U.S., Liberty Mutual sells full lines of coverage for automobile, homeowners, valuable possessions, personal liability and individual life insurance. The company is an industry leader in group sponsored voluntary car and homeowners insurance programs, offering personal lines insurance through payroll deduction and direct billing to employees and members of more than 10,000 companies, credit unions, professional associations and alumni groups.
Liberty Mutual Group has nearly 4,400 employees located in 33 offices across Massachusetts. Overall, Liberty Mutual Group has over 40,000 employees located in more than 900 offices throughout the world.
Peerless Insurance is a member of Liberty Mutual Group's Agency Markets' business unit, which consists of regional property and casualty as well as specialty insurance companies that distribute products and services through independent agents and brokers.
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