12 June 2014 – Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, one of the world’s major property and casualty insurers, announced today that it will acquire Hughes in a transaction set to close on July 1, 2015, and that its Irish subsidiary has agreed to become Hughes Insurance’s principal underwriter in Northern Ireland.
Hughes Insurance is Northern Ireland’s top independent insurance broker, with £60 million in gross written premium for the financial year ended March 31, 2014. It offers motor, van, household, SME commercial insurance, and travel insurance.
The company employs over 300 people at its headquarters in Newtownards, Co Down, and at 11 other locations across Northern Ireland, and distributes one in every five car insurance contracts sold in Northern Ireland. It also has a rapidly developing household and SME commercial insurance book.
Gareth Brady, the company’s existing CEO, and his management team will continue to lead Hughes Insurance.
With effect from July 1, 2014, Hughes Insurance has engaged Liberty Insurance Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, as its main underwriter for new policies issued.
Patrick O’Brien, CEO of Liberty Insurance, expressed his delight at the development, saying, “Liberty Mutual is thrilled to reaffirm its commitment to Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland, Liberty Insurance has grown a sizable company in the last two years. Through Hughes’ established network, I believe Liberty’s acquisition of Hughes and our selection as lead underwriter will enable us to establish a dominant presence in the Northern Ireland market. Liberty Mutual has a long history in Northern Ireland, having established Liberty Information Technology in 1997, which presently employs over 400 IT specialists.”
Gareth Brady, CEO of Hughes Insurance, said: “This is a fantastic step for our clients and workers, as it allows us to expand our business with the support of one of the world’s largest insurers while keeping our Northern Irish character.
It also offers up a slew of new options for Northern Ireland’s bright workforce.”
Hughes Insurance clients’ contact information remains unchanged, and they are not required to take any action as a result of the proposed change of ownership. All remaining policies are still valid, and existing customers will be offered competitive rates for insurance underwritten by Liberty Insurance when their policies are up for renewal.
Liberty Mutual Insurance assists people in preserving and protecting the things they earn, own, build, and appreciate.
Keeping this promise means being there for our policyholders all across the world when they need us the most.
Liberty Mutual has been in business since 1912 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a diversified worldwide insurer with operations in 30 countries.
According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the firm is the third largest property and liability insurer in the United States, based on direct premium written in 2013.
Based on 2013 revenue, Liberty Mutual is rated 76th on the Fortune 100 list of the largest firms in the United States.
Liberty Mutual Insurance had $121.2 billion in consolidated assets, $102.2 billion in consolidated liabilities, and $38.5 billion in consolidated revenue as of December 31, 2013.
Liberty employs over 50,000 people worldwide in approximately 900 offices, and we provide a diverse range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, accident & health, commercial automobile, general liability, property, surety, workers compensation, group disability, group life, specialty lines, reinsurance, individual life, and annuity products.
Through the company’s Worldwide and Global Specialty strategic business groups, Liberty Mutual Insurance will expand its international presence in Northern Ireland to 30 countries spanning Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Individuals and businesses in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Poland, Russia, Thailand, Singapore, India, China (including Hong Kong), Vietnam, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, and Chile can all benefit from Liberty Mutual’s international local business operations.
Liberty Mutual’s International strategic business unit, which insures more than 6.3 million vehicles worldwide, has a single largest line of business: private passenger automobile insurance.
Liberty Insurance offers vehicle and house insurance to Irish and UK consumers, as well as commercial insurance to Ireland’s businesses. The company employs around 1,000 people and has offices in Cavan, Dublin, and Enniskillen. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company is a completely owned subsidiary of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.
Hughes Insurance originally opened its doors in 1977. The company sells motor, van, house, business, and travel insurance exclusively in Northern Ireland. It has 11 branches in Ballymena, Ballynahinch, Belfast, Coleraine, Derry – Londonderry, Glengormley, Lisburn, Magherafelt, Newry, Omagh, and Portadown, as well as a customer service center and branch in Newtownards. Hughes distributes one out of every five automobile insurance contracts sold in Northern Ireland, and the company’s household and small business commercial insurance books are rapidly expanding.
Who is Liberty Insurance owned by?
Liberty General Insurance Limited, located in Mumbai, India, is a private general insurance firm. It is a joint venture between Liberty Mutual Insurance Group of the United States, Enam Securities of India, and the DP Jindal Group of India. mw-parser-output.infobox-subbox.mw-parser-output.infobox-3cols-child.mw-parser-output.infobox-header,body.skin-minerva.mw-parser-output.infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva.mw-parser-output.infobox-above,body.skin
Does liberty insurance cover Northern Ireland?
Currently, a Liberty Insurance motor customer in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has the same level of coverage as they do in the Republic of Ireland.
Who owns Safeco?
Safeco was acquired by Liberty Mutual Insurance in September 2008. Safeco has been able to focus solely on personal insurance thanks to the financial soundness of our parent company and a national network of local independent agents.
Who is State Farm owned by?
State Farm policyholders own the company. Because State Farm is a mutual insurance company, it is privately held by the people who buy its insurance policies, and shares in the company are not offered on the open market to investors. Four of the ten largest insurance businesses in the United States are private, including State Farm.
State Farm’s chairman, president, and CEO is Michael Tipsord. A diverse collection of corporate and community leaders make up the board of directors. Dan E. Arvizu (chancellor of the New Mexico State University System), Allan R. Landon (former CEO of the Bank of Hawaii), and Kenneth J. Worzel are among the noteworthy members (COO of Nordstrom, Inc.).
Who owns Geico?
) is a privately held American automobile insurance firm based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. After State Farm, it is the second largest vehicle insurer in the United States. As of 2017, GEICO was a completely owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, and it covered over 24 million automobiles owned by over 15 million policyholders. In all 50 states and the District of Columbia, GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance. The insurance company distributes products through GEICO Field Representatives, certified insurance brokers who sell directly to consumers over the phone, and its website. Its mascot is an English actor named Jake Wood, who plays a gold dust day gecko with a Cockney accent. GEICO is well-known in popular culture for its advertising, having produced a number of entertaining advertisements.
What is a Green Card Ireland?
Green Cards are internationally recognized insurance documentation that provide law enforcement agencies with verification of insurance coverage. It satisfies the police in the nation visited that the motorist possesses the needed minimum insurance coverage. An International Motor Insurance Card is another name for it.
Driving licence requirements
To drive in the Republic of Ireland, you will not require an International Driving Permit (IDP) if you have a Northern Ireland or United Kingdom driver’s license. You will, however, need to have your Northern Ireland/UK driver’s license with you.
To drive in other EU and EEA countries, drivers (both commercial and private) may need one or more IDPs in addition to their NI/UK driving license.
If you’re driving abroad
You do not need to renew your Northern Ireland/UK driving license to drive in the Republic of Ireland if it has been automatically extended.
If you are from Northern Ireland but live in the Republic of Ireland, you must exchange your NI/UK driver’s license for an Irish driver’s license by December 31, 2020, in order to drive legally in the Republic of Ireland.
IDPs are only available over the counter at the Post Office for £5.50. When purchasing your IDP, you will need to bring specific documentation with you to the Post Office (s).
Motor insurance requirements
When traveling across the border into the Republic of Ireland or driving in the rest of the EU and EEA, Northern Ireland drivers (both private and commercial) no longer need to carry a physical Green Card to prove they have legal insurance coverage for their vehicle.
Vehicle distinguishing mark
For the purposes of international trade, each country has its own distinctive mark.
The United Kingdom’s distinguishing mark under international conventions is ‘UK,’ which stands for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Although vehicles registered in Northern Ireland or the United Kingdom are not required to display a UK sticker or symbol when driving in the Republic of Ireland, UK-registered vehicles should display a UK sticker when traveling throughout the EU or EEA.
Is a named driver fully comp?
Any other named drivers on the policy will be protected with the same level of insurance as the main driver once you’ve purchased your policy with your named driver(s) indicated. As a result, if the primary driver purchased a fully comprehensive policy, the named drivers will be insured as well.
Does the named driver need to live at the same address as the main driver?
No, even if you live at a different address than the principal driver, you can get auto insurance as a named driver.
Does a named driver need their own insurance?
You’ll need insurance for any vehicle you drive, whether you’re a named driver or not. So, if you’re a named driver on your parents’ automobile but also have your own car in which you’re the primary driver, you’ll need to get a separate insurance policy for your own vehicle before driving.
Can a named driver drive another car?
Yes, as long as you have a separate insurance policy covering that vehicle. Named driver insurance only covers you when you use a car sometimes; it does not cover you when you use other vehicles.
You’ll need temporary auto insurance if you need to drive someone else’s car for a weekend, a week, or even up to 28 days.
Can I drive another car without being a named driver?
If your policy includes DOC (drive other cars) coverage, you can drive another car even if you are not a named driver on the main driver’s policy – but only in an emergency, not on a regular basis like named driver coverage allows.
If you’re not sure whether your existing coverage covers you to drive other automobiles, don’t risk it until you get confirmation from your provider. If you don’t check, you risk driving without insurance, which can result in a fine of up to £300 and up to 6 penalty points on your license, as well as higher future premiums.
If you don’t have DOC coverage, buy a short-term policy or ask the owner of the vehicle you want to drive to put you as a named driver on their car insurance policy.
Does being a named driver affect my own insurance?
No, being included as a named driver on someone else’s insurance policy has no bearing on your own auto insurance if you get into a car accident.
You would need to file a claim on the main driver’s insurance policy if you were in an automobile accident while driving another person’s car as a named driver. As a result, the main driver’s no claims bonus (NCB) would be affected, and they’d have to pay higher rates in the future until it was rebuilt, but yours would be good.
Similarly, if the primary driver is involved in an accident and needs to file a claim on their policy, it will have no bearing on your insurance or your NCB (no claims bonus) (NCD).
While being a named driver has no bearing on your own insurance, it does prohibit you from accruing an NCD. However, if the named driver has their own vehicle and is thus designated as the main driver, they can accrue their own NCD.
Some insurers will allow you to build an NCD as a named driver if you buy your own policy later and transfer it over.
If you ever decide to switch insurance providers, perhaps to save money on your next policy or because you’re unhappy with the service provided by your current insurer, you can keep your NCD and transfer it to your new policy, but you’ll need to contact your previous insurer to obtain proof of your no claims bonus.
Does adding a named driver reduce insurance?
If you only use the vehicle sometimes, named driver insurance is substantially less expensive than an annual policy for the additional driver. In general, adding someone else to a car insurance policy costs between £15 and £30, however the price varies greatly depending on the circumstances of the named driver who is being added.
If an older, more experienced driver adds their child to their policy, they might expect to pay extra because younger drivers are statistically more likely to be involved in an accident and file a claim.
On the other, if a young driver adds an older, more experienced driver, such as a parent, to their insurance, the cost of coverage will be reduced.
Because they will not be driving it as much as the main driver, named driver insurance is often less expensive. This is because there is a smaller possibility of them being involved in an accident and filing a claim on their policy.
There are additional options for lowering the cost of insurance besides adding a named driver to your policy.