Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM), the London headquartered unit of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, has rebranded its reinsurance division as Liberty Mutual Re and launched a reinsurance operation in Italy for the first time.
The rebrand applies to all aspects of LSM’s reinsurance division, which comprises 180 people in 14 locations.
Liberty Mutual Re’s newly established Italian operation will be based in Rome and Milan, and will begin trading immediately, focusing on property, casualty, and specialty business, according to LSM.
Commenting on the rebranding, Dieter Winkel, President of Liberty Mutual Re, said: “By rebranding as Liberty Mutual Re, the sole treaty reinsurance business within Liberty Mutual Group, we can be very clear about the benefits that our financial strength offers while highlighting the breadth and depth of our offering.
“Our rebranding signals our intention to leverage the Liberty brand and emphasize the sheer strength of the balance sheet on which the Liberty Mutual Group is founded. This is just the start of the process.”
Additionally, Massimiliano Fantini, formerly of Guy Carpenter Italy, has been appointed to lead the new Italian operation as Liberty Mutual Re’s General Manager Reinsurance for Italy.
Fantini was Guy Carpenter’s country manager for Italy for five years, before which he spent 15 years at Swiss Re Italy, the majority of which were spent as Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Winkel added: “The launch of our Italian business is a key step in our plans to grow Liberty Mutual Re’s business. We’re extending our global footprint while building on the close relationships we’ve already developed with clients and brokers in Italy.
“In Massimiliano Fantini, we have found a talented and highly-respected reinsurance professional to lead our Italian team. He also brings with him a wealth of contacts and local knowledge, which will be extremely valuable as we reach out to the Italian market.
“Massimiliano’s mission is to provide a first-class service to Italian insurance companies, with a complete range of reinsurance products both on a proportional and non-proportional basis.”
Liberty Mutual Re also announced that its U.S operation has started to write marine business for the first time, and has appointed Munich Re’s Scott Johnson to lead the newly launched marine account. Johnson will report to James D’Onofrio, Liberty Mutual Re’s General Manager for the U.S.
