Safeco Insurance homeowners insurance

Overview

Safeco Insurance no longer exists as a brand. Liberty Mutual, which bought Safeco in 2008, retired the name effective April 25, 2026, and now sells everything that used to be marketed as Safeco under the Liberty Mutual name. If your declarations page, bill or ID card used to say Safeco and now says Liberty Mutual, nothing else about the policy changed: Liberty Mutual says the coverages, deductibles, claim numbers, claims representatives and your independent agent all stay the same.

Safeco was Liberty Mutual's brand for independent agents, the agencies that represent several insurers rather than one. When it was retired, the Safeco business wrote nearly $14 billion a year in personal auto, property and specialty premium in 48 states through more than 22,000 independent agencies, according to Liberty Mutual's announcement. The underwriting companies behind those policies, such as Safeco Insurance Company of America and General Insurance Company of America, still exist as Liberty Mutual subsidiaries, so those legal names can still appear in the fine print.

Safeco does not have its own NAIC ranking. Its premiums are counted in the Liberty Mutual Group, which ranked #4 among U.S. homeowners insurance groups by 2025 direct premiums written, with $10.40 billion (5.50% of the national market), according to NAIC market share data; see Liberty Mutual. The group is strongest in the Northwest, Safeco's home region, and in New England: in 2025 Liberty Mutual was the largest home insurer in Idaho and New Hampshire and second in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Maine and Massachusetts.

History

Hawthorne K. Dent founded the General Insurance Company of America in Seattle on May 1, 1923, and sold its first policy on May 16. Known as "The General," it sold only through independent agents from the start. In 1953 it formed an auto subsidiary for those agents, the Selective Auto and Fire Insurance Company of America, shortened to SAFECO (an extra "E" was added because "SAFCO" did not sound right, the company later said). The parent took the Safeco name in 1968.

On April 23, 2008 Liberty Mutual agreed to buy Safeco for $68.25 a share in cash, about $6.2 billion. Safeco had written $5.9 billion of direct premium in 2007. The purchase, completed later in 2008, made Liberty Mutual the fifth-largest U.S. property and casualty insurer, and Safeco became part of Liberty Mutual's Agency Markets unit while keeping its own brand. Liberty Mutual added another independent-agent company, State Auto, through a deal agreed in 2021, and in November 2024 Safeco agreed to take over Main Street America's personal lines book (auto, home, renters, condo, umbrella and landlord policies), which expanded its presence in 22 states.

In March 2025 Liberty Mutual told agents it would sell all personal lines under the Liberty Mutual brand starting in 2026, saying one brand would simplify the business and focus its marketing and technology spending. The Safeco name was retired on April 25, 2026, and the change was announced publicly two days later.

Homeowners coverage

Former Safeco homeowners policies keep the coverage they had; only the branding changed. Before the switch, Safeco's site described a standard homeowners policy with dwelling, personal property and personal liability coverage, plus optional add-ons that included:

• personal property replacement cost, which pays the cost of replacing belongings rather than their depreciated value;
• valuable articles coverage for jewelry, art, collectibles and camera equipment;
• equipment breakdown coverage coverage for mechanical or electrical failure of household systems;
• service line coverage for buried utility lines;
• extended dwelling coverage, a form of extended replacement cost for when post-catastrophe demand pushes rebuilding costs past the dwelling limit;
• identity recovery coverage.

Safeco also sold condo, renters and landlord policies, and a home warranty through American Home Shield in most states. Coverage options and limits vary by state and by the endorsements actually on your policy, so the declarations page and your policy forms, not marketing pages, control what you have.

Discounts and savings

Safeco's main savings feature was the Safeco Package: combining home with auto and other policies. Package customers got a single loss deductible where available, which can waive the deductibles on other Safeco policies hit by the same event once the home deductible is paid. Say a windstorm drops a tree on both your house and your car: with the single loss deductible you pay the home deductible and the auto deductible may be waived.

Liberty Mutual says the name change itself did not change anyone's rate. At renewal, though, the premium can still change because of a rate revision or a coverage change, as with any renewal. Ask your agent which discounts are on the renewal and whether a different carrier would price your home better.

Where it sells and recent market moves

There is no longer anywhere to buy a new Safeco policy. The former Safeco products are now sold as Liberty Mutual through independent agents; Liberty Mutual's agent locator says more than 20,000 agencies sell its policies. Liberty Mutual also sells direct online and by phone, but it says its direct and agent product lines remain different, so a direct Liberty Mutual quote is not the same product your agent sells.

In California, the Department of Insurance reported in July 2026 that Liberty Mutual had a pending request to expand coverage in distressed areas under the state's Sustainable Insurance Strategy, and in August 2026 listed Liberty Mutual among 11 groups saying they were staying and growing in wildfire-affected parts of the state.

If you have a Safeco policy

1. Log in at LibertyMutual.com or in the Liberty Mutual app. Your Safeco username and password still work, and policy, billing and claims history have been moved over. Liberty Mutual says to delete the Safeco app.
2. Check your bank and card alerts. Bills now come from Liberty Mutual and charges show that name. If you set fraud alerts for unknown merchants, update them; the billing address did not change.
3. Confirm your escrow. Liberty Mutual says it notified mortgage lenders and servicers of the change. A quick call to your servicer avoids a missed payment or a lapse notice.
4. Expect the renewal on the usual schedule. The renewal packet arrives under your state's rules, typically 30 to 60 days before the renewal date. Treat it as a moment to shop the policy, especially if the premium jumps.
5. Keep your agent. The agency still services the policy and can quote other insurers it represents if you decide to switch.

Claims

Liberty Mutual says the same representatives handle claims for both brands, so an open Safeco claim keeps its claim number and adjuster, and the photos and forms have been moved to your Liberty Mutual account. New home claims can be filed online 24/7 at libertymutual.com, in the app, or by phone at 800-225-2467 (800-2CLAIMS); Liberty Mutual says a claims representative will normally respond within one to two business days. Older Safeco documents list 800-332-3226 for claims. Safeco's claims program offered a damage assessment by video chat, preferred contractors who usually call within one hour, water mitigation vendors, and a contractor network with a five-year warranty on roof replacements.

Ratings and reputation

AM Best affirmed the A (Excellent) financial strength rating of the members of Liberty Mutual Holding Company, the group that owns the Safeco underwriting companies, on September 10, 2025, with a stable outlook. It called the group's balance sheet very strong but noted that Liberty Mutual's underwriting results trail industry benchmarks on five- and 10-year averages.

Safeco's service scores fell before the brand was retired. In J.D. Power's 2025 U.S. Home Insurance Study, Safeco scored 571, down 23 points, the biggest drop among home insurers included in both the 2024 and 2025 studies; the homeowners average was 642. It ranked last among renters insurers that year with 614. See What J.D. Power's home insurance studies measure for how the study works.

Who it suits

The question now is whether a former Safeco customer should stay with Liberty Mutual. If your agent is responsive and the renewal premium is competitive, staying is the path of least effort: same coverage, same claim history and the same agency. If the 2025 satisfaction scores match your experience, or the first Liberty Mutual renewal arrives with a large increase, your independent agent can quote other carriers.

• Strengths: policies, deductibles and claims carried over unchanged; backed by a group rated A (Excellent) by AM Best (September 2025); sold through independent agents who can shop alternatives; strong market position in the Northwest and New England.
• Weaknesses: the Safeco brand, website and app are gone, so service now runs through Liberty Mutual's systems and your agent; Safeco scored 571 in J.D. Power's 2025 home study, the largest drop among home insurers in both the 2024 and 2025 studies; the agent product differs from what Liberty Mutual sells direct; AM Best says the group's underwriting results have trailed the industry over five and 10 years.

How to contact Safeco Insurance