Liberty Mutual and Axa forge U.S.-Euro alliance.

Liberty Mutual Group, the largest private writer of workers' compensation in the United States, has announced a strategic initiative with France's Axa Corporate Solutions to provide U.S. and European coverage to multinational companies.

The move will increase Boston-based Liberty Mutual's international reach, while strengthening Paris-based Axa's U.S. operations, the companies said. Through a fronting agreement, Liberty Mutual's U.S.-based clients will have access to Axa's insurance coverage in Europe, while Axa's European-based customers will have access to Liberty Mutual paper, said Jean Paul Rignault, chief executive officer of Axa Corporate Solutions.

"There is no overlap between the two companies," Rignault said in an interview at the Risk and Insurance Management Society Inc.'s conference. "We are better together than on our own."

The two companies will jointly offer programs including general liability, commercial auto, property, workers' compensation, foreign voluntary workers' comp and marine policies. The two companies fit well together because they have similar underwriting philosophies and often use the same brokers, said Trond Landsvik, managing director for Liberty Global, a division of Liberty Mutual.

"We are targeting large multinational companies," Landsvik said. He said the companies weren't direct competitors, because their geographic footprints were so different.

Axa said the new partnership with Liberty Mutual will complement the services currently offered by its affiliated company in New York, providing international clients with a full range of expertise in the United States, including workers' comp, commercial auto and surety bonds.