Liberty International Names Weesbach German Casualty Manager

Liberty International Underwriters in Europe has named Michael Weesbach, an experienced international underwriter, as its casualty manager in Germany.

Weesbach, who has been in the insurance industry for two decades, will seek to build Liberty's casualty business in Germany from his base in Cologne. He will report to Wolfgang Weis, executive officer for Northern Europe and Cologne branch manager.

Gerard van Loon, managing director of LIU Europe's continental European operations, said the move into casualty cover in Germany is "a natural progression." The group has been insuring financial lines in Germany since 2003, van Loon said.

"Offering casualty broadens our offering to brokers and further illustrates our commitment to growing our continental Europe operations," van Loon said in a statement.

No one at Liberty International was available for further comment. Liberty International is part of Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group.

Maik Stolle, a senior financial analyst at A.M. Best Europe Ltd. in London, said the midsize industrial casualty market in Germany offers encouraging prospects. By contrast, the large industrial casualty insurance sector in Germany is characterized by high entry costs and well-established relationships between German-based insurers and their customers, he said.

"It is hard for outsiders, particularly an American company, to get into" the large industrial casualty market in Germany, Stolle said.

The midsize market has the added advantage of being more broker-driven, and thus more accessible, than the large-industry sector, Stolle said. It also offers a good claims experience, he noted.

Stolle pointed to Chartis' purchase in 2009 of Wuerttembergische und Badische Versicherungs-AG, better known as WUEBA, a German underwriter providing mid-market industrial casualty business through a broker base. The deal, which preserves the WUEBA brand, gave Chartis a "foothold in the market," he said.

Units of Liberty Mutual have current Best's Financial Strength Ratings of A (Excellent).

(By Robert O'Connor, London editor: [email protected])