Liberty Mutual is a top name in the insurance field for its home and auto insurance and is one of the largest insurance companies worldwide. In addition to protecting individuals, the company also offers competitive small business insurance. As a nationwide brand with regional representation, Liberty Mutual promises its partnership with small businesses is tailor-made for individual policy owners.
Liberty Mutual’s basic small business insurance options include a small business owner’s policy (BOP) which bundles general liability and business property insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance.
Other policy options are add-ons to your general liability or commercial auto, such as an umbrella policy or equipment protection. Liberty Mutual also offers surety bonds.
Overview of Liberty Mutual
Liberty Mutual Group is an American diversified global insurer and the sixth-largest property and casualty insurer in the United States. Founded in 1912, it offers a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, workers’ compensation, commercial multiple peril, commercial automobile, general liability, global specialty, group disability, fire insurance, and surety.
Liberty ranks 71st on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the United States based on 2020 revenue. With its headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, and featuring the Statue of Liberty (formally Liberty Enlightening the World) on its logo, it employs over 45,000 people in more than 900 locations throughout the world.
As of December 31, 2021, Liberty Mutual Insurance had $156.043 billion in consolidated assets, $128.195 billion in consolidated liabilities, and $48.2 billion in annual consolidated revenue.
In the United States, Liberty Mutual remains a mutual company in which policyholders holding contracts for insurance are considered shareholders in the company. However, the company’s brand usually operates as a separate entity outside the United States. It often creates a subsidiary in countries that cannot enjoy legally recognized mutual-company benefits.
Liberty Mutual’s business insurance products
These are the top insurance policies from Liberty Mutual:
General liability insurance
This is a must-have for business owners. It helps cover costs that arise due to bodily injury, personal injury, property damage and advertising injury (libel, slander and copyright infringement). As a rule, liability coverage applies only to third-party claims, such as if a customer falls in your parking lot or an employee damages a customer’s property while on a job site.
General liability insurance does not cover damage to your own property or injuries to your employees. That kind of situation would require commercial property insurance and workers’ compensation coverage.
Liberty Mutual offers general liability insurance as a stand-alone policy or bundled with property insurance as part of its business owners’ policy.
Workers’ compensation insurance
Liberty Mutual offers workers’ compensation insurance to protect business owners if an employee is injured on the job or becomes ill as a result of their work. Most states mandate workers’ compensation coverage for businesses with at least one employee, though some states have a higher threshold.
Workers’ compensation covers the employee’s medical expenses and also shields businesses from lawsuits related to the incident. It typically covers the following expenses:
- Immediate medical care.
- Rehabilitation.
- Disability and lost wages.
- Survivor benefits.
Workers’ compensation won’t pay out if the employee’s injury occurred while performing a personal task, under the influence of drugs or alcohol or participating in a voluntary recreational activity.
Business Owners Policy (BOP)
Liberty Mutual’s business owners policy (BOP) combines general liability and commercial property coverages together under one policy. So, you’d be covered if your business were to be sued by a third party for claims like bodily injury, property damage, and personal injury or if some of your business’s equipment or furniture were to be damaged by a covered peril.
Commercial auto insurance
If your business uses vehicles as part of its operations, Liberty Mutual’s commercial auto and fleet policies can provide coverage for things like liability, physical damage, and uninsured motorists. Whether you rely on company-owned cars, employees’ personal cars, or hired or leased vehicles, you should contact a Liberty Mutual agent for more information on its policies.
Liberty Mutual’s commercial auto insurance can cover a single business vehicle or an entire fleet.
Professional liability
Professional liability, or errors and omissions (E&O) policies protect a service-oriented business against claims of negligence, inaccurate advice, misrepresentation, or failure to disclose important information.
Liberty Mutual offers options for contractors and designers, architects and engineers, technology professionals, lawyers, and more.
Commercial property
These policies provide coverage for businesses with a physical location, inventory, and equipment. It can help repair, replace, or rebuild damaged property after a covered loss, like fire, vandalism, theft, or severe weather, occurs. Liberty Mutual’s commercial property policies are tailored for businesses of varying sizes and needs.
Healthcare liability
This type of policy protects companies in the healthcare industry, like HMOs, healthcare providers and programs, hospitals, and long-term care facilities. It offers stop-loss coverage, property and casualty coverage, and reinsurance coverage designed to mitigate the legal, financial, and reputational risks that come with being in the industry.
Management liability
Liberty Mutual’s management liability policies protect company leaders against lawsuits that are based on the activities of company management, finances, benefits, and governance. This can include liability for directors and officers (D&O), school leaders, fiduciaries, employment practices, and public officials.
Equipment breakdown
If physical equipment is necessary to keep your business running, this type of insurance can help cover the associated risks. For example, it can cover short circuits, power surges, and other unexpected losses when they damage equipment or systems like computers, kitchen appliances, and production machinery.
That includes repair and replacement costs and losses from spoiled products, as well as resulting lost income.
Environmental liability
These policies cover companies that have risks related to environmental factors, such as site pollution, contractor legalities, and emergency cleanups. The coverages included will depend on the package. For example, the environmental protection policy has general liability, contractor pollution liability, site pollution liability, and professional liability.
Excess and surplus lines (E&S)
Excess and surplus lines (E&S) policies help cover companies with complex needs that standard insurance policies may not meet due to high and unique risks. This can include both property and liability coverages. E&S policies are provided by non-admitted or unauthorized insurance carriers, meaning they don’t have to be licensed within your state to provide you with coverage.
Ironshore, a Liberty Mutual company and wholesale distribution channel, provides the E&S policies.
Inland marine
These policies are a specialized form of property coverage. Liberty Mutual’s inland marine policies can help cover gaps in standard property policies if, for example, your business has assets that are under construction or regularly move locations. It can also include inventory that is moving between locations.
Despite the use of the word “marine,” this typically only applies to transit over land, or assets that are temporarily warehoused by a third party.
Ocean marine
Unlike inland marine, ocean marine specifically covers assets on or near the water. For instance, companies that build ships, port operators, cargo owners, and vessel operators can find tailored coverage, such as marine liability and marine hull protection and indemnity.
Programs
Liberty Mutual partners with other insurers to provide various insurance programs for businesses in niche industries with high or unique risks. This can include nonprofit organizations, contractors, insurance agents, and healthcare professionals.
There are options for contractor workers’ compensation, stop-loss, behavioral health care, errors and omissions (E&O), and nonprofit property and liability coverages.
Specialty
Similarly to the program option, specialty policies can help those who have more specialized risks that are difficult to evaluate. This can include livestock or equine companies, fine art businesses, and contractors working with subcontractors. Specialty policies can include coverages for:
- Political risks
- Captives
- War and terrorism
- Yachts
Mergers and acquisitions
These policies are intended to provide protection against the inherent transactional risks associated with mergers and acquisitions. This can include things like tax liability, warranty and indemnity, representations and warranties. It also includes specific legal risks that are uncovered during the due diligence process, depending on the policy.
Commercial umbrella and excess liability
Liberty Mutual’s umbrella coverage broadens the protection provided by your other liability policies, so it’s an option for those who are worried about coverage gaps. The excess liability coverage is meant to provide higher limits of coverage for losses that exceed the coverage amount provided by your underlying policies.
Liberty Mutual business insurance pricing
As with most insurance companies, a number of fluctuating criteria determine the cost and pricing. In general, small business insurance premiums are based on factors like industry, number of employees, coverage limits, and claims history.
For example, if your industry is associated with higher risks, like construction, you’ll likely pay more for coverage. Or, if you have a history of filing claims, insurers may view you as a higher risk and charge higher premiums accordingly.
Liberty Mutual doesn’t disclose the average cost of its business insurance policies. Business owners need to contact an independent broker or agent to discuss policy details and get a quote. Factors like coverage, location, business type and associated risk factors will influence your rate.
How much business insurance costs will depend on what kinds of insurance you want to purchase for your business, as well as how much and what you want to be covered. Generally speaking, the more coverage you add to your policy, the more expensive it can become.
According to industry leaders, Liberty Mutual’s prices are average among its competitors.
How to get a quote from Liberty Mutual
Liberty Mutual partners with a company called Tivly (a third-party insurance quote aggregator) to provide free quotes online. There are two options. You can call a number and wait to speak to a representative, or you can fill out an online form and wait for a representative to call. Both options involve a phone call with Tivly.
You can also get a quote for Liberty Mutual among other insurance providers by using an aggregator like CoverWallet. This is a company that takes your information and provides you with quotes from a number of various insurers.
How to file a claim with Liberty Mutual
You can always contact Liberty Mutual by phone, but you can also file a claim online by logging into your account. To file a claim, you will need your username/password, the date of the incident, and details about the incident.
Liberty Mutual also has an app. From the phone app, a small business can pay their bill or file and check on any claims.
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