Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (
AGCS),
Allianz Group’s specialist corporate insurer, has announced that it is acquiring the renewal portfolio of
Liberty Mutual’s US product recall and special contingency business, written through Liberty International Underwriters (LIU) US. The acquisition will expand
AGCS’s product recall business, which it started in 2016.
“As LIU recently announced an exit from the crisis-management space, we are pleased to have the opportunity to offer our underwriting expertise to their former clientele in an effort to continuously support their coverage needs,” said Christof Bentele, global head of crisis management for AGCS. “Companies that choose to renew policies with Allianz will benefit not only from an overall smooth transition, including engagement of the same crisis management partners, but also from Allianz’s unparalleled global network and talent, both in underwriting and claims handling. For Allianz, this opportunity helps further position us as a leading product recall carrier and supports our strategy of expanding our customer base in the US.”
Demand for product recall insurance has been increasing over the past decade, Allianz said. Specialised product recall insurance is designed to help control the costs of a recall, including testing, consultant or advisor expenses, advertising costs, and the costs of implementing the recall itself and repairing or replacing products. In addition to covering the financial losses of a recall, AGCS offers its clients crisis-management assistance services through partner company red24.
The average cost of a significant product recall incident is more than US$12 million, according to AGCS data. The costs of the largest product recall events far exceed that number, the company warned.
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