Safeco Acquiring Republic’s Personal Lines Business in 6 States

AmTrust Financial Services said it will transfer to Liberty Mutual’s Safeco Insurance unit the renewal rights for the personal lines business in six states of Dallas-based Republic Group, an AmTrust company.

The deal will allow Republic General Agency personal lines agents to transition their business to Safeco starting in the 2020 third quarter. AmTrust said that Republic personal lines policyholders in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and New Mexico should experience a smooth transition with the change.

AmTrust said its decision to exit its Republic personal lines business lets it focus on core areas such as workers’ compensation and providing extended warranties.

Safeco Insurance is a top three personal lines writer in the independent agency channel and was named the carrier champion of the independent agent in the 2019 Channel Harvest Study, AmTrust noted.

“We have an unwavering dedication to our independent agency partners and look forward to bringing our best-in-class products, people, programs and service capabilities to Republic agents and policyholders,” Gary Fischer, senior vice president of IA Channel Growth and Engagement at Safeco Insurance, said in prepared remarks.

This isn’t the first time that Liberty Mutual has picked up business that AmTrust chose to exit. Last April, Liberty Mutual agreed to acquire AmTrust’s global surety and credit reinsurance operations at an undisclosed price.

AmTrust also earlier this year agreed to transition its farm and ranch business in Texas and Oklahoma to South & Western General Agency Inc., which has offices in Addison, Texas, and Memphis, Tenn. South & Western will begin underwriting and servicing AmTrust’s farm and ranch business in the two states on May 1.

AmTrust is a multinational insurance holding company based in New York, with a focus on specialty property/casualty insurance products including workers’ compensation, business owner’s policy, general liability and extended service/warranty coverage.

A version of this article first appeared in Insurance Journal’s sister publication, Carrier Management.