Evolving consumer needs and new technologies in the transportation sector have led to the growth of ride-hailing, vehicle-sharing, car subscription and autonomous vehicles. Along with this have come unique coverage challenges, calling for more customization of policies for both commercial and consumer uses.

“There has been a lot of need in the market for insurance solutions for large commercial fleets, as well as private passenger auto and consumer capabilities,” said Nick Grant, manager of countrywide product, new mobility, at Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. in Boston.

Mr. Grant, who works in the insurer’s retail markets unit, and David Blessing, chief underwriting officer, sharing economy and new mobility at Liberty Mutual, also in Boston, began collaborating on the development of such solutions. The success of those efforts helped Liberty Mutual win Business Insurance’s 2020 U.S. Insurance Award for Insurance Underwriting Team of the Year (all property/casualty).

“We found that we were both working separately a few years ago pursuing this space,” Mr. Grant said. “As an organization we decided to take a step back and look at how we could better deliver solutions to the market and take advantage of the diverse capabilities of Liberty Mutual in a cohesive fashion as opposed to separately.”

What they found, he said, was that “we have large risk solutions, private passenger auto capabilities and different claims capabilities that we could consolidate, and different product and underwriting opportunities that we could merge.” The result was the Mobility Pod, which creates custom insurance solutions for the evolving transportation sector.

“This is a time-saver and we’re learning so much from each other,” Mr. Blessing said. “If you think about traditional auto coverages, it’s per vehicle and that doesn’t lend itself well to the types of businesses we’re underwriting. Their model is that someone is using someone else’s car, some of the time for some purpose.”

Because of these diverse needs, tailoring solutions to the exposures has been key. “We open up more access to our channels and offer more opportunities for growth than the commercial master policy-type solution we might have been providing otherwise,” Mr. Blessing said.

Mr. Grant added, “A big part of the progress we’ve been able to make is good old-fashioned teamwork, having executive sponsorship and creating visibility across the organization. Key was the buy-in across the organization up to the high levels.”

FINALISTS

• AmWins Group Inc. — AmWins Special Risk Underwriters division offers middle-market property capacity, including catastrophe coverage, in a tightening market.

• Euclid Transactional LLC — Founded in 2016, Euclid Transactional offers a range of coverages for transactional risks arising from mergers and acquisitions.

• International Re Ltd. — International Re created an insurance and reinsurance product for high-performing middle-market business owners with captives.

• ProSight Specialty Insurance — Prosight’s construction team created Release of Information during Construction of your Home, which offers coverage for luxury home builders and remodelers.