Liberty Specialty Markets : Everything you need to know

Headquarters address: 20 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 3AW, United Kingdom
Year established: 2013
Global locations: Asia-Pacific region, Bermuda, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latin America, Luxembourg, Middle East, Netherlands, North Africa, Spain, Switzerland, UK, US
Size (number of employees): 1,900+ (2021)
Gross written premiums: $8,140 million (2021)
Expertise: Accident & health insurance, aviation, binding authorities, casualty, commercial motor, contingency, crime & fraud insurance, energy & construction, environmental, environmental impairment liability binders, equine & livestock, financial lines, financial risk solutions, fine art and specie, healthcare, legal indemnity, marine, mergers & acquisitions, professional indemnity, property, reputational crisis, safeguarding, strategic assets, surety bonds & guarantees, war & terrorism
Key people: Philip Hobbs (president & managing director), Dieter Winkel (president, Liberty Mutual Reinsurance), Kirk Maddern (chief operating officer), Steve McMurray (chief financial officer), Michael Gosselin (chief underwriting officer – specialty, Liberty Specialty Markets), Melanie O'Neill (chief underwriting officer – commercial), Nigel Davenport (group general counsel), Graham Brady (chief risk officer), Seema Vadera (group head of HR), Mike Gillett (chief claims officer), Mandy Macqueen (chief digital transformation officer)

About Liberty Specialty Markets
Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM) is the commercial, specialty and reinsurance arm of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group (LMG). With headquarters in London, the company operates in more than 60 countries worldwide, offering a range of underwriting and claims handling services. As of 2021, LSM boasts a workforce of approximately 1,900 employees globally.

Liberty Specialty Markets is rated A (Strong) by Standard & Poor’s and A (Excellent) by A.M. Best. Its Lloyd’s Syndicate 4472 also benefits from the insurance marketplace’s A+ rating.

Leadership at Liberty Specialty Markets

Philip Hobbs – president and managing director
Hobbs was appointed president and managing director of LSM in April 2022. In his role, he is responsible for the leadership, long-term strategy, continued profitability, and future success of the company. Prior to this, he was deputy managing director at LSM, who oversaw the firm’s underwriting, enterprise risk management (ERM), and actuarial operations.

Hobbs joined Liberty in 2006, coming aboard from Deloitte where he was a manager. Before that, he was on Bacon & Woodrow’s graduate trainee programme. Hobbs also holds board membership at the International Underwriting Association.

Culture at Liberty Specialty Markets
LSM adopts a responsible business framework to guide its engagement with key stakeholder groups. As part of this, the company is committed to building an inclusive culture that benefits its employees, clients, brokers, and the communities it serves.

To achieve this, one of the firm’s initiatives is its Inclusion Matters framework, which helps strengthen the company’s diverse workforce and grow its inclusive environment. The framework consists of six employee networks, each promoting a different aspect of diversity. These are Cultural Awareness Matters, Family and Caring Matters, Pride Matters, Veterans’ Matters, Health & Wellbeing Matters, and Gender Matters. These networks are open to all employees and designed to create a space for them to come together to connect, learn, and engage.

LSM is also committed to environmental sustainability and supports the transition to a low-carbon economy. As part of this commitment, the company pledges to no longer accept underwriting risk for companies with more than 25% of exposure arising from the extraction and production of energy from thermal coal. It also promises to no longer invest in companies that generate more than 25% of revenues from thermal coal mining or utility companies that generate more than 25% of their electricity production from thermal coal. In addition, the firm plans to phase out coverage and investments for existing risks that exceed this threshold by 2023.