Liberty Mutual Review – A Provider for All Your Insurance Needs?

Founded over a century ago as a workers’ compensation insurance company, Liberty Mutual (aka Liberty Mutual Insurance) offers a range of insurance policies, including auto, homeowners, renters, life, and pet. It also offers various business insurance policies, including workers’ comp insurance, plus annuities and employee benefits.

Liberty Mutual’s closest competitors include major home and car insurance companies such as State Farm, Allstate, Geico, and Progressive. The company straddles the line between the low-cost, direct-sales model embraced by Geico and Progressive and the personalized, local agent-focused model that State Farm, Allstate, and others follow.

It offers shoppers the best of both worlds, providing a low-key, non-salesy experience for individuals looking to buy a basic auto policy in short order, while giving personalized support and attention to business owners and families with more complex insurance needs.

For policyholders, Liberty Mutual balances easy access to knowledgeable agents with one of the best mobile apps in the insurance industry, a powerful tool for filing and managing claims on the go.

Liberty Mutual: Products Offered

Liberty Mutual offers various types of insurance coverage to customers across the United States. However, your available policies and coverage options may vary depending on where you live.

To find out what’s available in your home state and how much you can expect to pay for it, get an insurance quote online or call (844) 669-3663 to speak with a salesperson.

Automotive Insurance

Liberty Mutual offers auto insurance policies that meet state minimum coverage requirements in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Policies include collision, comprehensive, liability (bodily injury and property damage), uninsured/underinsured motorists, medical payments, and personal injury protection (PIP) coverages.

They also include optional coverage for unlimited car rental after an accident, as well as sound systems and other vehicle add-ons. Vehicles with working anti-theft devices and other safety features tend to qualify for lower insurance rates, as do drivers with good driving records and good students with B-average GPAs or better.

And Liberty Mutual auto policies provide a lifetime guarantee on all repairs made at a Liberty Mutual-approved repair shop.

Other optional Liberty Mutual auto insurance coverages and features worth noting are:

• New Car Replacement. If you total a newer vehicle, Liberty Mutual’s New Car Replacement program pays the full sticker price for the vehicle without accounting for depreciation. Most other insurers do account for depreciation.
• Better Car Replacement. If you total an older vehicle, Liberty Mutual replaces it with a car that’s one model year newer and has 15,000 fewer miles.
• Liberty Mutual Deductible Fund®. This feature lowers your deductible by $100 each year you remain a customer in good standing with Liberty Mutual. You pay a portion of the additional premium, and Liberty Mutual picks up the remainder.
• Accident Forgiveness. This optional feature essentially ignores your first accident as a Liberty Mutual policyholder. That means your premiums won’t go up afterward even if you (or another party involved) choose to file a claim.
• RightTrack® by Liberty Mutual. RightTrack® is an optional safe-driver program that qualifies eligible policyholders for premium discounts up to 30%. Participants temporarily install a monitoring device that measures acceleration, braking, nighttime driving, miles driven, and other variables to assess overall driving risk.

Classic Car Insurance

Liberty Mutual offers separate policies for classic cars, defined as 25 or more years old. Premiums and discounts vary based on how much you drive, where you store the car, how it’s secured, and whether you bring it to auto shows.

Motorcycle Insurance

Liberty Mutual’s motorcycle insurance policies meet state minimum coverage requirements. Like Liberty Mutual auto policies, motorcycle policies come with optional New (or Better) Motorcycle Replacement coverage, which adheres to the same terms as the car versions.

Boat, RV, and ORV Insurance

Liberty Mutual offers insurance policies for boats, personal watercraft, RVs, and off-road vehicles such as ATVs, gators, and snowmobiles.

Liberty Mutual may require these policies to be attached to an underlying policy. For instance, boat insurance must be attached to a homeowners insurance policy, while off-road vehicle insurance must be attached to an auto policy.

Homeowners and Condo Insurance

Liberty Mutual’s homeowners insurance policies provide coverage for your home’s main building, any outbuildings or secondary houses on your property, and the contents of your home, except for highly valuable items such as jewelry and original artwork, which you can protect for an additional cost with optional policy riders.

Liberty Mutual home insurance policies also cover liability costs in the event a guest is accidentally injured on your property. And they cover the cost of alternative living arrangements for up to 12 months if your home is rendered uninhabitable.

Condo insurance includes similar coverages, although not for damage to parts of your condo building that you don’t own.

You can get a homeowners policy on a mobile home as well.

Renters Insurance

If you don’t own your dwelling, you likely qualify for Liberty Mutual’s renters insurance coverage.

It insures the contents of your home — your personal property, except for highly valuable items — against events such as fire, theft, and certain types of water damage not due to weather events (which would be considered flooding and thus covered under flood insurance).

Similar to homeowners insurance, renters insurance also provides liability coverage for guests injured on your property.

Landlord Insurance

For rental property owners, Liberty Mutual’s landlord insurance covers damage to the main structure and outbuildings, plus any contents (such as kitchen appliances) owned by the landlord.

It also includes liability protection for injured guests, even if your renters don’t have renters insurance, and automatically adjusts coverage limits for inflation.

Umbrella Insurance

Umbrella insurance provides a combined, shared layer of additional liability protection on all your Liberty Mutual policies.

It only comes into effect if you exceed the liability limits on your underlying policies due to a serious event — for instance, you’re deemed at fault for a major accident resulting in massive property damage, or your guest suffers a catastrophic injury whose value exceeds your homeowners insurance policy’s liability limits.

You need a Liberty Mutual auto policy to qualify for umbrella insurance.

Flood Insurance

Liberty Mutual offers direct access to flood insurance policies through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which underwrites all flood insurance policies in the U.S. Flood insurance policies are always separate from homeowners insurance policies, which don’t cover flood damage.

Life Insurance

Liberty Mutual offers permanent — whole and universal — and term life insurance. Term policies range from 10 to 30 years, depending on your age and term preference.

Pet Health Insurance

Liberty Mutual offers pet health insurance policies that cover certain costs associated with medical care for policyholders’ pets.

Depending on the policy type, covered expenses can include treatment for injuries, diagnosis and care for acquired or chronic disease, and certain types of preventive care.

Tuition Insurance

Liberty Mutual’s tuition insurance product provides reimbursement for covered costs for tuition, housing, and other eligible post-secondary education expenses should the policyholder withdraw from school due to:

• Unexpected accidents that result in significant injury or death
• Certain covered illnesses, including mononucleosis and influenza
• Mental health issues, including depression and anxiety

Liberty Mutual tuition insurance provides up to 100% reimbursement for covered costs, regardless of withdrawal timing, up to the total coverage amount. Premiums generally start at 1% of the coverage amount.

Policies are available for an entire school year, a single semester, or a study abroad term.

Accident Insurance

Liberty Mutual’s accident insurance coverage provides a predetermined cash payout to policyholders injured in a covered accident. The policyholder has full discretion over how they use the payout.

Basic accident insurance coverage includes individual accident and accidental death and dismemberment coverage. Liberty Mutual offers three optional add-ons:

• Hospital indemnity benefits covering certain expenses related to hospital admission, testing, and overnight stays
• Medical transportation (air or ground ambulance)
• Additional benefits including a range of care- and treatment-related expenses, such as blood and plasma transfusions, skin grafts, and surgery

Critical Illness Insurance

Although it’s not a proper, ACA-compliant health insurance policy, Liberty Mutual’s critical illness coverage helps defray costs associated with major medical expenses. Eligible illnesses include:

• Cancer
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Organ transplant
• Coronary artery bypass surgery

Covered costs include:

• Out-of-pocket medical expenses (deductibles, copays) that standard medical insurance doesn’t cover
• Everyday expenses the policyholder continues to incur despite being unable to work, such as mortgage payments, car payments, and utility bills
• Certain recovery costs, such as child care, physical therapy, and rehabilitation
• Other types of financial support as needed, subject to exclusions and coverage limits

Business Insurance

Liberty Mutual offers more than a dozen different types of commercial insurance coverage for businesses. The availability of particular policies and coverages may depend on your location and industry. Policy types include:

• Workers’ compensation insurance
• Group life insurance
• Group disability insurance
• Leave of absence benefits
• Assigned risk insurance (workers’ compensation insurance for businesses deemed too risky for traditional workers’ comp policies)
• General and excess liability coverage
• Multinational insurance (location-specific coverage in more than 150 countries)
• Commercial property insurance
• Reinsurance

Liberty Mutual has a deep reserve of agents who only focus on business clients. The company encourages business owners to consult with them to ensure the best, most affordable coverage.

Additional Features

In addition to its insurance coverage, Liberty Mutual’s noteworthy features include:

12-Month Policies

All Liberty Mutual policies come with 12-month terms, meaning your rate stays in force for 12 months from your policy’s effective date.

That can be a good or bad thing, depending on whether you file any claims (which could push your rate higher after renewal) or qualify for any new discounts (potentially lowering your rate after renewal) during that period.

Policy Bundles (Multi-Policy Discounts)

If you bundle multiple policy types — such as auto, home, and boat — together, you may qualify for a substantial policy discount (premium discount) of anywhere from 5% to over 50%.

Your exact bundling discount depends on the number and type of policies bundled.

Vehicle Service Plan (Lifetime Repair Guarantee)

Liberty Mutual’s Lifetime Repair Guarantee covers certain eligible vehicle repairs following the expiration of the manufacturer’s warranty.

In exchange for a fixed monthly payment that helps defray auto repair and maintenance costs, plan holders can choose from licensed repair facilities near where they live and work.

Premium Discounts

Liberty Mutual’s vehicle, homeowners, and renters policies come with a host of potential discounts that could drop your annual premiums by anywhere from a few dollars to more than 10% per discount.

These include discounts for paying your annual premium in full or choosing automatic debit (automatic payments), completing a safe-driving or -riding course, purchasing a hybrid vehicle, getting married or retiring, and using vehicle safety systems such as anti-lock brakes and lane departure warnings.

Coverage Calculator for Home and Rental Policies

Liberty Mutual’s home and rental insurance coverage and premium calculators offer estimates of your monthly premium payments based on your answers to questions about the value of your home’s contents.

They’re useful if you want to establish a cost range for a potential policy without providing personal information during the quote-finding and policy application process. However, actual policy costs may differ from the estimates, depending on where you live and whether you select additional coverage options or policy riders.

Online Account Management Portal

Liberty Mutual has a password-protected online account management portal where you can access your premium information, make payments or change payment information, report claims, and view your policy ID cards.

You can also manage the progress of your claim here without picking up the phone. Features include photo and file uploads for damage photos and police reports, an internal messaging system that connects you with your claim representative, on-site appraisal information that quantifies the damage and potential payout, and claim status reports.

Text Alerts for Claims

In addition to on-site claim-tracking tools, Liberty Mutual offers a text alert system to monitor the status of your claim. Alerts include confirmation that your claim was received, cost and reimbursement estimates, and updates on approval and payouts.

Mobile Apps

Liberty Mutual offers free, downloadable apps for Android and iOS users.

Both apps provide access to Liberty Mutual’s quote-finding tools, policy ID cards, account management portal (including the ability to make a premium payment from your phone), claims reporting and tracking, and roadside assistance.

Roadside Assistance

Liberty Mutual offers 24/7 roadside assistance for all auto insurance policyholders. Assistance after a vehicle-disabling accident is free as part of your collision or comprehensive coverage, depending on the policy.

If you have a towing and labor rider on your policy, it’s also free in the event of a mechanical breakdown. If you don’t have this rider, you may have to pay for towing charges after a breakdown.

Local Agent Network

Liberty Mutual has a national network of branded offices whose agents only serve Liberty Mutual customers, rather than independent agents and offices, which typically sell and service policies from many different insurers.

The website has a search feature that lets you find offices within a desired radius of your home or search for agents by name.

Advantages

Liberty Mutual’s top advantages include its international reach, generous coverage for totaled autos, great mobile app, and no pressure to buy through a local agent.

1. Policies Available in Many International Markets

Liberty Mutual sells personal and commercial policies in nearly 20 countries besides the United States, and its multinational insurance policies may protect business locations in an additional 130 countries.

If you hold dual citizenship, own property in another country, or own a business with international operations, you may have a use for these policies. Many other large U.S. insurers, including State Farm, Allstate, and Progressive, don’t have the same breadth of international policies, if they offer them at all.

2. Better Deal on Replacements and Reimbursements for Totaled Vehicles

When a policyholder totals a vehicle, most insurers pay out its market value. That figure takes depreciation into account, even for cars just driven off the lot. Depending on the make, model, and mileage on the car, factoring in depreciation can significantly reduce the final payout.

By contrast, Liberty Mutual’s New Car Replacement policy pays out the sticker price — which doesn’t include depreciation — of any vehicle totaled within a year of purchase, provided it has less than 15,000 miles on it.

For all other totaled vehicles, Liberty Mutual’s optional Better Car Replacement coverage pays the market value of the same make and model vehicle that’s one model year newer and has 15,000 fewer miles.

3. Powerful Apps for Mobile Users

Although Liberty Mutual’s website isn’t particularly mobile-friendly, its Android and iOS mobile apps are useful for folks who do the bulk of their insurance business on their smartphones.

The apps have large buttons, large-font text, and an intuitive claim-filing and claim-tracking portal that allows you to report and track claims from the side of the road — where you may well be after an accident, break-in, or other unfortunate event.

4. No Pressure to Buy Personal Insurance Through an Agent

Liberty Mutual makes it easy to buy most personal insurance policies online or through its national sales center.

In many cases, you can provide some information, get an exact quote, and purchase your policy in 30 minutes or less, without ever speaking to a human being or dealing with potential pressure to buy additional coverages or optional policy riders.

By contrast, Allstate and State Farm strongly encourage you to complete your purchase through an agent, prompting you to “call and speak to your local agent” after getting a quote rather than asking for your payment information online. It lengthens the buying process and exposes you to upselling pressure.

5. Access to Flood Insurance

Liberty Mutual is one of the few U.S. insurers to offer direct access to flood insurance policies underwritten by the National Flood Insurance Program, which handles all flood insurance policies in the U.S.

By contrast, companies such as Geico and Allstate direct policyholders to NFIP without offering a way to buy flood insurance through them. USAA also offers direct access to flood insurance, but it’s limited to military members and their families.

Disadvantages

Liberty Mutual’s key disadvantages include no claims satisfaction guarantee, no on-site quote comparison tool, and no primary health insurance.

1. No Satisfaction Guarantee on Claims

Liberty Mutual doesn’t offer any hard guarantee of satisfaction with the claims process. If the company decides not to pay out on a seemingly legitimate claim, you don’t have any financial recourse.

By contrast, Allstate’s Claim Satisfaction Guarantee waives your auto insurance premium for six months if you find the claims process to be unacceptable for any reason — no questions asked. Depending on your premium, that could save you hundreds of dollars.

2. No On-Site Quote Comparison Tool

You can’t use Liberty Mutual’s website to compare its policy premiums to those offered by other major insurance companies. That’s a significant oversight that could draw out your insurance shopping experience and make it difficult to compare apples to apples at different insurers.

By contrast, Progressive’s website features direct premium comparisons between similar or identical policies from other companies. If you’re pressed for time, that’s a big perk — not to mention a reassuring indicator of transparency.

3. No Primary Health Insurance for Individuals

Although Liberty Mutual is a full-service insurance provider with a wide range of available policies, it’s missing some essential policy types that prevent it from being a true one-stop shop. The biggest omission is individual health insurance coverage that complies with the Affordable Care Act.

Final Word

Buying insurance can be a complicated, frustrating process, especially if you’re in the market for multiple policy types. With so many different products and features, it’s hard for any insurance company to quickly and simply convey why it’s a better deal than the competition.

Unfortunately, that means it’s your responsibility as a shopper to source quotes and compare coverages from several different companies before making a final determination.

However, the good news is that with so many insurers providing a similar range of policies, the insurance business is pretty competitive. If you’re willing to put in the time, chances are high you’ll find policies that fit your needs and budget.