San Diego -- Calling it "official," Fred Marziano, Liberty Mutual senior vice president, and California Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush held a ceremony today at Golden Eagle's headquarters to announce the completion of Liberty Mutual's purchase of the once-troubled California insurer.

Before more than 1,000 Golden Eagle employees, as well as a number of representatives from local, state and federal government, and community and civic leaders, Marziano also announced the company has been renamed, "Golden Eagle Insurance Corporation."

"The new Golden Eagle is ready to soar," said Marziano, who will be Golden Eagle's interim chief executive officer. "There are so many winners on this historic day -- especially Golden Eagle's more than 1,300 employees, our 700 agents and brokers, and 100,000 customers," he continued. "The San Diego region and the state's insurance marketplace also clearly benefit from a financially stronger Golden Eagle."

Marziano said Golden Eagle has begun hiring, and he plans to add 100 employees in the coming months. He also said Golden Eagle will continue its strong relationship with its network of agents and brokers throughout the state.

"Backed by Liberty Mutual's financial strength and our history of success, I believe producers will find the new Golden Eagle a solid partner that's eager to respond to their service needs," Marziano noted.

The new company will operate under the direction of local management that Marziano is assembling. He also is looking for better office space for the company's headquarters in the San Diego area.

Today's signing marked the completion of the most successful Court-supervised insurance company rehabilitation in state history. In September 1996, California's Department of Insurance concluded that Golden Eagle's customers were at risk because the company was under-reserved. In January 1997, with California Superior Court Judge William Cahill's approval, the Department placed Golden Eagle into conservatorship. A Court-supervised bidding process took place and Liberty Mutual was awarded the company on August 4, 1997.

Golden Eagle Insurance Corporation generated $708 million in premiums in 1996, and has generated more than $600 million in premiums from January to June 1997. The company writes policies for property and casualty, workers compensation, other forms of business insurance and homeowners.

Boston-based Liberty Mutual is a diversified financial services company with more than $40 billion in consolidated assets and $48 billion in assets under management. With $8.7 billion in consolidated revenue, it ranks 126th among Fortune 500 companies in the United States. Liberty Mutual is one of the largest multi-line insurers in the property and casualty field, and has been the leading provider of workers compensation insurance, programs and services in the United States for more than 60 years. The company employs 23,000 people in more than 500 locations throughout the world.