“Whilst DUAL is naturally disappointed to be exiting financial lines and cyber in Asia we believe this sale is in the best interests of both our clients and employees,” said Damien Coates, CEO of DUAL Asia Pacific.
Chubb will be purchasing the firm’s business assets in Hong Kong and Singapore including intellectual property in the form of wordings and underwriting models.
A DUAL news release said the decision “to find a new home” for their Asia business was linked to the managing general agency (MGA), or underwriting agency model remaining “unrecognised in the majority of Asia.”
“Chubb is the leading financial lines provider in Asia and is strongly positioned to ensure continued expansion of this business into the future,” said Coates.
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He said there were a number of other “interested parties” however the Zurich headquartered insurance giant emerged as the favourite.
“Chubb stood out as the preferred partner given their strong financial lines and cyber expertise, cultural alignment and strategic ties to Howden Group,” said the CEO.
DUAL is the specialist underwriting arm of Howden Group Holdings.
Coates said DUAL Asia’s managing director Mark Spadaccini “has decided to take this opportunity to take a well-deserved career break.”
However, he said the business’s underwriting and operations director, Verone Shek, “has accepted a newly created role with Chubb as underwriting and operations integration manager, financial lines – Asia.”
“We would also like to thank MSIG [Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group] for its support over the last 13 years and look forward working with them in jointly developing a plan to manage the claims and run-off of the policies underwritten on their behalf,” added Coates.
The DUAL news release said the company remains committed to the Asia region and will continue to look for growth opportunities.
DUAL has been MSIG’s managing general agent since 2009 and provided Financial Lines solutions for MSIG’s clients under a delegated authority in Singapore and Hong Kong.
MSIG recently appointed Andrew Taylor as senior vice president and head of financial lines for Singapore and Hong Kong. Taylor will be responsible for accelerating the profitable growth and development of financial lines for MSIG within the region including the growth markets in Southeast Asia.
Mack Eng, CEO of MSIG Singapore and Philip Kent, CEO of MSIG Hong Kong, issued a joint statement commenting on the change: “We are excited to have Andrew on board to lead the teams in developing bespoke financial lines solutions to meet our clients’ evolving needs in this space. The conclusion of our partnership with DUAL allows us to develop a new profitable growth strategy, capitalising on the strengths of MSIG in the region. With Andrew’s leadership and experience in financial lines, we will further strengthen our product offerings and servicing capability to ensure we remain the insurer of choice for our intermediaries and clients for financial lines insurance as we focus into the future.”
