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Exclusive: Liberty Mutual, Automatic Team Up To Offer Insurance Discounts, Free Services

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Theres no shortage of devices that plug into your cars Onboard Diagnostic (OBD-II) port to gather data. And theres also no shortage of auto insurance companies that want to give you one for free in order to gather data about your driving habits in exchange for premium discounts: Progressive's Progressive's Snapshot, Allstate's Allstate's Drive Wise and State Farm's State Farm's In-Drive, to name a few.

Now Liberty Mutual is sweetening the deal by offering Automatic, an OBD-II device that normally retails for $99.95 but is given for free when a driver signs up for a 90-day evaluation program called RightTrack that will be initially offered in Connecticut. Users who sign up share their driving data to earn up to a 30 percent discount on their Liberty Mutual car insurance by demonstrating safe driving habits such as smooth braking and accelerations, according to the auto insurer. And they also get access to Automatics other services, such as engine diagnostics, vehicle location and emergency crash response accessed via a companion iOS or Android smartphone app.

Automatic OBD-II device. Photo by Automatic.

Users get all the benefits of Automatic, Thejo Kote, CEO of Automatic, told Forbes.com, and theyre shown in the app exactly what they should do to get the discounts and learn how theyre driving. While driving aggressively will obviously send data from an OBD-II device that wont endear you to an auto insurer, Kote said that knowing other information that can affect your premium, such as driving at various times of the day, is the differentiating factor between the RightTrack program and other OBD-II auto insurance trackers.

You get feedback through the application about what you could be doing to earn a higher discount, Kote added. One thing that has never happened with customers who use an [OBD-II device] to earn a discount is knowing exactly what they should be doing and how they are being measured. He contends that the process hasnt always been transparent, and we think it should be.

All customers who participate in the program get at least a 5 percent discount if they finish the evaluation period, and they get to keep the device and all the benefits of Automatic, Kote noted. They can use all the features for those 90 days, and then after the 90 days they get all the features of Automatic without any charge.

Automatic has already partnered with Ford to integrate with the automakers Sync system, Nest to connect with a users home climate control system and even the Jawbone UP wristband to guilt car owners who take short trips by knowing how many steps you could have logged if youd walked instead of drove. Kote said he sees this as a trend of companies leveraging the benefits of data-tracking devices and in many cases giving them away to their customers to deliver value to consumers and to businesses.

The larger theme I see happening here is the example that Nest is doing with utilities, he added. A lot of utilities give away Nest free to their customers. Companies are coming together to give these great experiences to customers. Like having some control over your insurance rates through knowing how your driving can affect the cost, and getting other benefits to boot.

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Exclusive: Liberty Mutual, Automatic Team Up To Offer Insurance Discounts, Free Services

Boston-based Liberty Mutual to bring 5,000 jobs to new campus in Dallas suburb of Plano

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PLANO, Texas Liberty Mutual Insurance expects to have 5,000 employees working at its new campus in the Dallas suburb of Plano by the end of 2017.

The nation's third-largest insurer told employees Tuesday about the new campus, the Dallas Morning News (http://bit.ly/1a2tPZr ) reported.

Liberty Mutual vice president John Cusolito said that while the company's headquarters will stay in Boston, the new Plano campus will consolidate a variety of operations now located around the country.

"We are reviewing which nearby operations will bring the most sense to bring onto this campus," he said.

The new campus will be built in the $2 billion Legacy West development, which is under construction. Toyota Motor Co. is building its new North American headquarters there, and FedEx Office is building its new national headquarters there as well. Between the three major companies, almost 12,000 jobs will be located in the area.

Along with the office space, the 240-acre Legacy West project includes hundreds of new apartments and homes, retail space, restaurants and a luxury hotel.

The first of FedEx's workers will move into its new building later this year. Toyota will start occupying its campus, which is under construction, in 2017.

Liberty Mutual will begin moving workers in January to Plano, where it has rented temporary office space. The company has more than 50,000 employees and operations in 30 countries.

Along with its home office in Boston, Liberty Mutual also has a large concentration of between 4,000 and 5,000 employees at facilities in New Hampshire.

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Boston-based Liberty Mutual to bring 5,000 jobs to new campus in Dallas suburb of Plano

Liberty Tire Recycling completes restructuring

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April 7, 2015 5:33 PM Share with others:

By Braden Kelner / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Liberty Tire Recycling Holdco said today that it has completed a restructuring with stakeholders to reduce its outstanding debt by $50 million.

The tire collection and reuse company, with headquarters in the Strip District, said in a news release that it now has additional capital provided by investment advisers such as Third Avenue Management, Redwood Capital Management and Knighthead Capital Management.

Almost all of the companys bondholders agreed to exchange their unsecured notes for a combination of second lien notes and equity in the company, according to the release.

In the third quarter of 2014, lenders halted access to a $75 million revolving credit line after Liberty Tire breached the terms of the loan, according to Standard and Poors. The tire recycling company in December obtained a $10.1 million loan to fund its daily operations before the restructuring.

Liberty Tire, founded in 2000, reclaims tires to be used in products such as mulch, crumb rubber and even fuel. It owns about 30 collection and remediation facilities in the U.S. and Canada, as well as a number of production facilities, including one in Braddock. At the facilities, it reclaims 1.59 billion pounds of rubber from over 141 million tires each year.

Braden Kelner: bkelner@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1969.

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Liberty Tire Recycling completes restructuring

Liberty Tire Recycling Completes Financial Restructuring

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PITTSBURGH, April 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --Liberty Tire Recycling Holdco, LLC and its subsidiaries announced today that on March 5, 2015, the Company completed its financial restructuring, which de-levered the Company's balance sheet and facilitated the infusion of new capital into the Company. With its new capital structure, Liberty Tire has a strong balance sheet and the flexibility and liquidity to continue to make significant capital investments and to capitalize on new market opportunities.

As a result of the transaction, Liberty Tire has reduced its outstanding debt securities by $50million and significantly reduced its annual cash interest expense. The Company now has access to additional capital through loans provided by funds and accounts managed by Third Avenue Management LLC, Redwood Capital Management, LLC and Knighthead Capital Management, LLC, among others.

The transaction was implemented through a successful exchange offer launched on February 17, 2015, whereby almost 100% of Liberty Tire's existing bondholders agreed to exchange their unsecured notes for $175 million of 11% second lien notes and equity in Liberty Tire.

"With our restructuring completed, we now have the foundation in place for Liberty to achieve strong and steady growth," said Bill Fry, president and chief executive officer. "We appreciate the service of our previous board of directors, and look forward to great things with our new equity holders and new board of directors."

Thomas Womble, chief operating officer, said, "Our completed restructuring provides us greater financial flexibility and stronger growth opportunities. We are excited to forge ahead and are thankful for the ongoing support of our valued partners, suppliers and customers."

About Liberty Tire Recycling

Liberty Tire Recycling is the premier provider of tire recycling services in North America. By recycling more than 141 million tires annually, Liberty Tire reclaims about 1.59 billion pounds of rubber for innovative, eco-friendly products. The recycled rubber produced by Liberty Tire is used as crumb rubber and industrial feedstock for molded products; as tire-derived fuel for industrial kilns, mills and power plants; and as rubber mulch for landscaping and playgrounds. The company maintains a North American network of processing plants, and comprehensive door-to-door collection services. Liberty Tire Recycling is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa. For more information, please visit http://www.libertytire.com.

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Liberty Tire Recycling Completes Financial Restructuring


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