Liberty establishes Japan Desk
February 2019
Liberty International Underwriters has recently appointed Kohei Watanabe as Head of Business Development for Japan.
“We see Japan as a market of interest and growth potential for Liberty. Over the past few years the majority of our product lines have experienced greater opportunity and demand for the tailored underwriting solutions we can offer,” said Matthew Jackson, Senior Vice President and Asia Leader, Liberty International Underwriters.
“Many of our major broking partners are also experiencing growth in their Japanese portfolios so this appointment is timely on a number of fronts,” said Jackson.
“With our ability to offer a combination of consistent underwriting, risk engineering and dependable claims services we believe we are well positioned to grow our Japanese portfolio. Kohei will form a dedicated Japan desk based in our Singapore office and is able to connect brokers and their clients in Japan with our broad range of products,” said Jackson.
Kohei brings nearly two decades of experience in the Tokyo and London markets, having most recently held senior roles for a leading Japanese insurer.
Kohei can be reached on +65 6622 9206 or on Kohei.Watanabe@libertyIU.com.
Australian survey rates Liberty as the insurer most trusted to deliver on promises
January 2019
Australia’s largest independent survey of general insurance brokers has ranked Liberty second in all three of the 2018 overall award categories:
- General insurer of the year
- Best broker experience
- Most trusted brand
The 2018 National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) survey involved more than 800 brokers, who rated 18 insurers and underwriting agencies across a range of products and services.
We really appreciate this recognition from the Australian insurance broker community.
For us, being named as the brand most trusted by brokers to deliver on promises is a real highlight and echoes the value proposition we work hard to deliver every day for each of the 20,000 clients we protect across Asia Pacific.
Liberty Welcomes Ironshore to its Asia Pacific Operations
November 2018
The Liberty Mutual Insurance Group has announced it will merge its two commercial specialty lines businesses across Asia Pacific, with Liberty International Underwriters integrating the local Ironshore operations.
Liberty Mutual Insurance made a global acquisition of Ironshore Inc, in 2017 and now seeks to consolidate the number of brands that the group operates in the Asia Pacific region.
The Ironshore team will start writing business under the associated Liberty brands starting 1 January 2019. Claims will continue to be handled in line with present arrangements, and Pembroke, Ironshore and Liberty will collectively review claims handling arrangements as the integration moves forward.
The integration will see us further strengthen our product offering with additional capability in Warranty & Indemnity, Trade Credit, Political Risk and War & Terrorism.
Liberty announced as finalist in Australian Mansfield Claims awards
July 2018
Liberty has been recognised for claims excellence in Corporate Property and Casualty in the 2018 Mansfield Claims Awards. Now in their second year, these awards are determined using data from:
•LMI’s Claims Comparison statistics
•Financial Ombudsman Service
•Supplier, customer and broker surveys
Now insuring medical devices, complementary medicine and cosmetics
May 2018
Liberty International Underwriters has launched a combined public and products liability cover for medical devices, complementary medicines and cosmetics. This includes first and third party recall expenses.
Designed specifically for companies operating in the research, development and manufacture of medical products, we're ideally suited to companies that sell and/or distribute:
- Medical equipment and machinery
- Medical and surgical devices
- Complementary medicine including vitamins, mineral and nutritional supplements, aromatherapy products, herbal medicines and traditional medicines
- Cosmetics, including hair and skin care products.
In addition to our liability offering, Liberty also offers extensive protection in the event of a product recall by packaging our PRplus product recall coverage. This includes replacement, refund and repair costs plus business interruption cover.
Why Directors & Officers premiums have been rising in Australia
April 2018
More claims, larger payouts, increasing propensity of class action claims and rising defence costs. Marcus Thomas (Senior Vice-President, Professional and Financial Risks) shares why D&O insurance premiums in Australia have been rising in the April 2018 edition of Australian Institute of Company Directors magazine. Read more.
Leadership Update - Asia
March 2018
Liberty International Underwriters has announced a number of internal promotions across Asia Pacific:
- Asia Operations Leader Ben Hissey will relocate from Singapore to Sydney in July 2018 to take on a regional Asia Pacific role. Ben has spent the past 12 years leading Liberty operations in Asia and will now take on significant leadership responsibilities across the wider Asia Pacific business.
- Matthew Jackson will step into the Senior Vice President, Asian Operations Leader role in Singapore, subject to regulatory approval. For the past 15 years Matthew has worked for Liberty and currently leads the casualty operations across the region.
- Angelo Maniatis will relocate from Perth to Singapore to take up the Vice President, Casualty Asia leadership role. Angelo brings almost a decade of experience in the Liberty business and has been leading our Perth operations since 2012. Angelo has also been responsible for our strong and capable casualty risk engineering team across Asia Pacific, which is a core to our casualty offering.
Liberty deeply values the knowledge and experience of our internal team and the continuity that our stability brings to our customers. We look forward to continuing to develop deep enduring partnerships with our broker partners and clients.
Broker barometer
February 2018
The 2017 J.P. Morgan Taylor Fry General Insurance Barometer results are out. Thanks to our broking partners for ranking us 'best in class' for underwriting and claims in four key product lines: Commercial Property; Marine; Public and Product Liability; and Professional Indemnity.
Value creation creates a cultural difference
November 2017
Richard Todd (Vice President, Accident & Health) discusses Liberty’s A&H products, as well as Liberty's culture and added value in the wider market place in the November/December 2017 edition of Business First magazine. Read more
Surety underwriting commences in Hong Kong
September 2017
On 20 September 2017, Liberty announced the expansion of surety operations to Hong Kong through locally licensed Liberty International Underwriters Limited.
Jonathan Griffiths (Regional Surety Manager, Liberty Asia Pacific) explained that obtaining a Hong Kong surety license, coupled with Michelle Ho joining the Liberty Hong Kong office as the dedicated Surety Underwriter for Asia, demonstrates Liberty’s commitment to providing outstanding service to the dynamic local market.
The Hong Kong license complements the Singapore surety licence secured by Liberty in 2014.
A true picture of the state we're in - insurancenews.com.au
June 2016
Noel MacCarthy shares his insights on the state of the insurance market today, and where it's headed. Read about it here.
Drones - will the murmur become a roar?
June 2016
As regulations are set to be relaxed in late September 2016, the insurance industry is sure to be impacted. Read about it here.