DUAL: Everything you need to know
Annual gross written premiums: £719 million
Employees worldwide: 600
Offices: 32 in 15 countries
Established: 1998
DUAL is the largest international underwriting agency in the world, and Lloyd’s largest international coverholder. The DUAL Group is the underwriting division of the Hyperion Insurance Group, which was founded in 1994 as a wholesale broker in the UK. Today, DUAL has outposts in Austria, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Iberica, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, the UK, the US, and Canada, as well as other regions.
DUAL’s products include accident and health, asset, DUAL Oliva (which are bespoke products across the commercial, construction and specialist sectors), financial lines, marine and energy, political violence, private client, treaty reinsurance, and DUAL Aqua (which are tailored solutions within niche classes of business).
DUAL was established in 1998, and, in 2014, the company restructured its binders into a worldwide quota share, with both old and new carriers taking part. On the back of its results for the year ending September 30, 2018, David Howden, CEO of Hyperion Insurance Group, explained to Insurance Business that DUAL had enjoyed growth on the back of a restructure and solid expansion in an underwriting capacity.
“DUAL has undergone a three-year restructure in which we’ve invested heavily in technology and new management,” he said. “Over the last three years we’ve built a highly efficient business.
“Now Richard [Clapham] and his team are going to drive the business forward. The key metrics are underwriting results and achieving a combined operating ratio that is market leading. A lot of MGAs are just starting up, but we have stable relationships in place with long-term growth.”
DUAL in the news
2017: Hyperion launched Howden One, its international retail broking network
April 2018: DUAL International launches a Canadian arm
July 2018: DUAL announces leadership changes that positions the company for growth in the UK and internationally
Key people as of 2019
Richard Clapham – CEO of DUAL Group
Clapham has more than 30 years’ experience in the insurance market, and his career kicked off with property broking at DR Fleet & Co. His other roles have included positions leading Markel’s professional indemnity division and chief operations director of an AIM-listed start-up. Clapham has also collected over a decade of experience with Catlin, as a member of the group underwriting board, a director of Catlin Underwriting Agency, and Catlin Insurance Company UK, and a member of the UK Executive Committee. Previous to his current role, Clapham was the group chief underwriting officer, and CEO of UK and Europe for DUAL.
Mark Hudson – Chief financial officer of DUAL Group
Hudson joined DUAL as chief financial officer in September 2016, coming over from Novae Group plc, where he served on the executive committee and was the finance director of its managing agency subsidiary, Novae Syndicates Limited, from 1999 onwards. He has also been a member of the Lloyd’s Market Association Finance Committee and is qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte.
Culture
DUAL prides itself on bringing underwriters under its wings that have comprehensive knowledge of global insurance markets and trends, as well as those looking to apply their global skills inside their local market. These underwriters are likewise skilled in loss mitigation techniques and claims settlement strategies.
