The Washington state insurance commissioner’s office approved the sale of Seattle-based Safeco Corp. to Liberty Mutual Group for $6.2 billion Sept. 19. Under the deal, property/casualty insurer Safeco will remain headquartered in Seattle and keep its name, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said, noting it would be a “seamless” transition for policyholders. Safeco’s shareholders approved the sale in late July.
The transaction makes Liberty Mutual the fifth-largest property and casualty insurer in the United States. Previously, Liberty Mutual Group was the sixth-largest property and casualty insurer in the United States based on direct written premium of $20.2 billion, while Safeco had 2007 direct written premium of $5.9 billion.
Recent statistics place Liberty Mutual ninth in the U.S. for total private passenger auto insurance and Safeco at number 13. The newly combined company is expected to rank seventh in the U.S. by total direct premiums written. This places it slightly below Nationwide in auto insurance market share, and comfortably above USAA.
