Safeco Insurance auto insurance

Overview

Safeco Insurance was the name Liberty Mutual used for the auto, home and specialty insurance it sold through independent agents. The brand no longer exists: Liberty Mutual retired it on April 25, 2026, and all of its personal lines products are now marketed and sold as Liberty Mutual. If you bought a Safeco policy from an agent, you keep the same agent, and Liberty Mutual says the policy itself is unaffected apart from the name.

Before it was retired, Safeco was a large business in its own right. When Liberty Mutual announced the change in March 2025, it said Safeco had grown to more than $13 billion in annual premium and sold personal auto, property and specialty products in 48 states through more than 22,000 independent agencies. Safeco's premiums have always been reported within the Liberty Mutual Group, which ranked #7 among U.S. private passenger auto insurers by 2025 direct premiums written according to NAIC market share data. No separate Safeco auto premium figure is published.

The Safeco name lives on in the legal names of some Liberty Mutual underwriting companies, including Safeco Insurance Company of America, Safeco Insurance Company of Indiana and Safeco Insurance Company of Oregon, along with General Insurance Company of America, the company Safeco grew out of. You may still see those names on policy documents and state filings.

History

Safeco began in Seattle in 1923, when Hawthorne K. Dent left Northwestern Mutual Fire Insurance Company and founded General Insurance Company of America. According to the HistoryLink history of the company, Dent built it on selective underwriting: taking on only risks he judged to be good ones and charging what each risk merited. In 1953 the company created a separate auto and fire insurer, Selective Automobile and Fire Insurance Company of America, which it set up to compete with direct writers like State Farm by paying agents lower commissions and charging lower auto premiums. The SAFECO acronym later became the name of the whole company.

Liberty Mutual agreed to buy Safeco Corporation in April 2008 and completed the deal on September 22, 2008, paying $68.25 in cash per share, about $6.2 billion in total. Liberty Mutual kept Safeco as its brand for personal insurance sold through independent agents, while selling Liberty Mutual-branded policies directly and through its own agents. Safeco marked its centennial in 2023. Its last expansion moves came in 2024: a personal auto and umbrella book-transfer agreement with Columbia Insurance Group in September 2024, and the personal lines book of Main Street America late that year.

In March 2025 Liberty Mutual announced that, starting in 2026, it would sell all personal lines under a single Liberty Mutual brand, saying the direct and independent-agent product lineups would stay different from each other. The change took effect on April 25, 2026. Safeco.com now redirects to Liberty Mutual's independent-agent site.

Auto insurance coverage

Safeco auto policies were sold only through agents, so the agent chose the coverage and set it up with you. Safeco sold personal auto, property and specialty products, including umbrella policies, the line it took on from Columbia Insurance Group in 2024. Liberty Mutual's agent site now lists car, motorcycle, boat, antique and classic car, ATV and RV policies, along with home, renters, condo and umbrella coverage. Agents sell all of these under the Liberty Mutual name.

Those policies now carry the Liberty Mutual name. Liberty Mutual says its independent-agent products remain distinct from the ones it sells directly online and by phone. That means a former Safeco policy will not necessarily match the coverage options described on Liberty Mutual's consumer pages. Your declarations page and your agent are the best guide to what you actually have.

Discounts and programs

The best-documented Safeco program is RightTrack, the telematics discount program Liberty Mutual also uses. Liberty Mutual says safe drivers can earn up to 30% off with RightTrack, and that agents can add it to a policy. Former Safeco customers who used RightTrack face a deadline. Anyone in the Continuous program who signed up in the Safeco Mobile app before April 25, 2026 must move to the Liberty Mutual Mobile app by October 28, 2026. Participants who do not switch may be removed from RightTrack and from its Accident Assistance feature. Liberty Mutual says that won't affect your coverage, but your RightTrack discount and premium can change. Everyone who started the 90-day program in the Safeco app has already moved over or finished. For a broader comparison of programs like this, see how usage-based insurance works.

Liberty Mutual's agent site promotes bundling auto with home, renters or condo coverage (a multi-policy discount). Discounts differ between the agent and direct channels and from state to state. Ask your agent which discounts appear on your renewed Liberty Mutual policy.

Claims

Claims on former Safeco policies are now handled through Liberty Mutual. Safeco's old claims address redirects to Liberty Mutual's claims center. You can report a personal claim online at the Liberty Mutual claims site, in the Liberty Mutual Mobile app or by phone at 800-225-2467 (800-2CLAIMS). Roadside assistance is available 24/7 at 877-762-3101; additional charges apply if your policy does not include towing and labor coverage. Your independent agent can also help you file and follow a claim.

Ratings and reputation

Safeco's insurers are part of the Liberty Mutual group. In September 2025 AM Best affirmed its A (Excellent) financial strength rating for the Liberty Mutual insurance companies. AM Best's announcement did not list Safeco entities separately.

Safeco's last separately ranked J.D. Power claims score was weak. In the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, Safeco scored 672 and placed 19th of 20 brands, against an industry average of 700. The Liberty Mutual brand placed third in the same study with 730. In the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Auto Insurance Study, former Safeco customers were counted under Liberty Mutual rather than as a separate brand.

Who it suits

Safeco can no longer be bought as Safeco. This page is mainly for people who still hold a policy sold under that name. For them, little changes day to day: the same independent agent services the policy, and billing, claims and ID cards run through Liberty Mutual's accounts and app. Drivers shopping for new coverage through an independent agent will be offered Liberty Mutual's agent-channel products, usually next to quotes from other insurers the agency represents, such as Travelers or Nationwide.

• Strengths: Same independent agent after the rebrand, with no policy changes forced by the name change; backed by the Liberty Mutual group's A (Excellent) AM Best rating; RightTrack telematics discount carries over to the Liberty Mutual app; one company for auto, home and specialty vehicles such as motorcycles, boats and RVs.
• Weaknesses: Second-to-last in the J.D. Power 2025 claims study under the Safeco name; RightTrack Continuous users must switch apps by October 28, 2026 or risk losing the discount; agent-channel products differ from Liberty Mutual's direct products, so its website is not a reliable guide to your policy.

How to contact Safeco Insurance