Plan to open offices around UK targeting PI and D&O business

Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe is set to open a string of offices around the UK in an aggressive drive to grow its regional professional liability book.

The company, trading as Liberty International Underwriting, is to open an office in Bristol, focusing on professional indemnity (PI) and directors' and officers' (D&O) cover for SMEs. Further offices are planned in the UK.

In January, Liberty Mutual opened offices in Manchester with the aim of gaining a foothold in the regional market.

Liberty Mutual chief executive Sean Rocks said: "We have started in the North West because we believe the region is becoming an insurance centre, but eventually we will look to expand to all major areas, maybe opening four to five regional offices."

He said Wales and areas south of Birmingham were potential sites for the company's geographical expansion plans.

Rocks said Liberty would grow its books of business using a combination of new technology and partnerships with local brokers who had specialist expertise in PI cover.

The company made an aggressive push into the solicitors' PI market during the renewal period, garnering a 2% market share.

Novae pushes liability in the North
Novae Underwriting is making an aggressive push into the northern market, appointing former Brit Insurance underwriter John Holmes to the helm of its Manchester operations.

Holmes has been taken on as Novae's regional underwriting manager for the North.

Stuart Quinlan, underwriting development director at Novae, said the company intended to target the small to medium end of the professional indemnity and directors' and officers' liability markets.

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