Liberty Mutual Insurance To Work With U.S. Olympic Committee To Insure Team USA Medals Won By 2014 And 2016 U.S. Olympic And Paralympic Athletes

BOSTON, Jan. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- For every Team USA athlete who has dreamed of competing on the world stage, there is no greater glory than earning an Olympic or Paralympic medal for his or her country. Liberty Mutual Insurance, the Official Property and Casualty and Life Insurance Partner of the 2014 and 2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams, today announces that it is working with the U.S. Olympic Committee to protect our athletes' greatest reward by insuring each gold, silver or bronze medal won by U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes competing in the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

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"Liberty Mutual Insurance is in the business of providing comfort, security and support to our customers by protecting what is important.  For Team USA athletes who have dedicated their lives to their sport so they can someday rise to the podium, a medal is the ultimate reward for their hard work and training," said Paul G. Alexander, Liberty Mutual Insurance chief communications officer. "Every medal is meaningful to our country and the athlete who earned the right to wear it, and we are proud to support and protect what matters most to people - whether it is a home or automobile, a business and its employees, or a medal won during the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games."

In the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, a combined 498 medals were awarded to Team USA athletes, more than any other country. At present, the process to replace a lost or stolen Olympic or Paralympic medal requires the athlete to file a request through the U.S. Olympic Committee. Through this new insurance policy with the U.S. Olympic Committee, Liberty Mutual Insurance will ensure our 2014 and 2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes are not financially responsible to replace their treasured prizes.

"America's elite athletes train year after year, day after day with the goal of representing the our country on an Olympic or Paralympic podium," said Alan Ashley, USOC chief of sport performance. "We are excited that one of our partners, Liberty Mutual Insurance, is committed to protecting our athletes' accomplishments by providing insurance for each medal won by a Team USA athlete."

In addition to the commitment to protect Team USA medals, Liberty Mutual Insurance also supports Team Liberty Mutual, the brand's roster of 13 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes bound together by their unique stories of setbacks and comebacks. Much as the company helps its policyholders get back on their feet after natural disasters or accidents, Team Liberty Mutual represents the power of human persistence, what is possible with the support of others, and showcases the determination in all who face a setback to come back and "Rise." Team Liberty Mutual includes: Max Aaron (figure skating); J.R. Celski (short track speedskating); Jazmine Fenlator (bobsled); Jen Hudak (freestyle skiing); Jessica Jerome (ski jumping); Chris Klug (snowboarding legend); Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux (ice hockey); Rico Roman (sled hockey); Andy Soule (Paralympic nordic skiing/biathlon); Picabo Street (alpine skiing legend); Katie Uhlaender (skeleton); and Seth Wescott (snowboardcross).

"I remember the feeling of winning my first medal in the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games, particularly how it felt to stand on the podium and have that gold medal placed around my neck," said Team Liberty Mutual snowboardcross boarder, Seth Wescott, who won gold medals in Torino (2006) and Vancouver (2010). "I have and continue to face setbacks and challenges along my journey and to know that Liberty Mutual Insurance is there to protect the greatest reward an athlete can earn as they rise to the top of the Olympic stage is an incredible sense of comfort."

Support for Team USA on the "Road to Sochi"
Liberty Mutual Insurance is proud to be the presenting sponsor of the USOC's Road to Sochi Tour, which will travel to 13 cities leading up to and during the Sochi Games.  Visitors to Liberty Mutual Insurance's experiential footprint at the Road to Sochi Tour will be able to learn more about the "Rise" campaign and Team Liberty Mutual, meet U.S. Olympians and Paralympians past and present, and participate in the Rise social conversation by sharing the #RISE stories that they have experience in their own lives. 

To follow Team Liberty Mutual leading up to and during the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, visit LibertyMutual.com/TeamUSA and join the conversation at Facebook.com/LibertyMutual or by following #RISE.

About Liberty Mutual Insurance
"Helping people live safer, more secure lives" since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance is a diversified global insurer and the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2012 direct premiums written as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The company ranks 81^st on the Fortune 100 list of largest U.S. corporations based on 2012 revenue.

Liberty Mutual Insurance offers a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, workers compensation, property, commercial automobile, general liability, global specialty, group disability, reinsurance and surety. Liberty Mutual Insurance (www.libertymutualinsurance.com) employs over 50,000 people in approximately 900 offices throughout the world.  Liberty Seguros (Brazil) is a National Supporter and Official Insurer of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2013 FIFA Confederation Cup, both of which are in Brazil.

About the USOC
Founded in 1894 and headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., the U.S. Olympic Committee serves as both the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States. As such, the USOC is responsible for the training, entering and funding of U.S. teams for the Olympic, Paralympic, Youth Olympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games, while serving as a steward of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements throughout the country. For more information, visit TeamUSA.org.

SOURCE Liberty Mutual Insurance