Doe & Emuss launches at Lloyd's

Doe & Emuss (D&E), a new specialist underwriting manager in professional liability, has launched with coverholder approval at Lloyd’s.

The firm is led by founders David Doe (pictured above, left), chief executive, and Paul Emuss (pictured above, right), managing director, who bring a combined 70 years of experience in the Lloyd’s and London Market.

D&E will manage portfolios of professional liability business and underwrite professional liability insurance on Lloyd’s paper, supported by syndicates, most of which are top-quartile performers.

Doe noted the “unprecedented demand in the North American market for Professional Liability insurance” and stated that D&E aims to offer “a new and truly independent platform” to US and Canadian agents and brokers, as well as to Lloyd’s brokers seeking professional liability risk placement.

The US professional liability market is estimated to be worth $35 billion in premium volume. Doe highlighted the US market’s size and litigation levels as factors that support the ongoing demand for such products.

Emuss added that professional liability coverage “keeps the wheels of commerce going in the United States and Canada,” describing D&E’s focus on SME businesses, providing coverage via wholesale brokers and agents in London, the US, and Canada.

Emuss remarked that D&E’s target clients are “Main Street, not Wall Street” and said the firm is authorised to underwrite over 10,000 professional classes.

Doe indicated that the firm’s launch coincides with a decline in Lloyd’s open market opportunities post-pandemic.

“Whilst we are moving into a slightly softer market, our production of new business is up substantially,” he said. “We have a great opportunity given our combined years of underwriting experience, coupled with our cutting-edge technology, allowing us to handle substantial volumes of business.”

Read More: New underwriting franchise to enter SME professional lines market

Before establishing D&E, Doe was managing director of professional lines at Alesco Risk Management Services from July 2018 and has held several senior positions in the Lloyd’s market. In 2006, he qualified as a Chartered Director and later became a Fellow of the Institute of Directors in 2014.

Emuss, meanwhile, was underwriting director of professional lines at Alesco Delegated Authority starting in 2022. From 2001 to 2022, he led Risk Analytics and Insight at Arthur J. Gallagher and has worked as an underwriter with Cotesworth Syndicate, QBE, and Zurich.

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