Liberty Mutual Insurance history

Because of its growing range of activities, Massachusetts Employees Insurance Association was no longer a suitable name; thus in August 1917 the company changed its name to Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.

In 1919 it launched its first advertising campaign.

Liberty Mutual moved beyond the boundaries of the United States in 1925 when it began operating in Canada in conjunction with salespeople employed by the Rexall Drug Company, selling and servicing policies referred by the drug salespeople.

Liberty Mutual's commitment to safety was further reflected by the 1954 founding of a state-of-the-art laboratory, the Liberty Mutual Research Center in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.

In addition, Liberty Mutual in 1964 opened the Skid Control School at Hopkinton to teach driver trainers how to control vehicles during skids and other emergency situations, techniques that they could then teach to commercial vehicle drivers.

1972: The company tops the $2 billion mark in written premiums.

In 1973 Liberty Mutual opened its first wholly owned international office, located in London, to participate in the international reinsurance market.

Of further note during the decade was the 1985 foundation of Liberty Financial Services, allowing the company to offer financial services.

Massachusetts passed a law in 1998 that permitted a mutual to adopt the mutual holding company structure.

In July 2003, Liberty Mutual acquired the Spanish operations of MetLife Inc.