Insurers DUAL North America and AXIS Capital Holdings Limited have expanded the capacity of their surety programme partnership after its first year of operations in the market.
DUAL North America, the specialist underwriting arm of the global Howden Group, said it is increasing its surety programme capacity in response to rising demand from clients. The move follows what the company described as a successful first year in the surety segment.
Under the expansion, single-bond limits have increased from $100 million to $150 million. Aggregate per-principal limits have also risen, reaching $300 million compared with the previous $200 million.
Brendan Keating, EVP Surety at DUAL North America, said: “This expansion is a direct response to the success we’ve seen over the past year. As we look to continue to build a world class surety portfolio with AXIS as our partner, the increased resources coupled with the team’s expertise will enable us to achieve what we set out to do.”
The surety programme is backed by AXIS Insurance Company, a subsidiary of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited. AXIS is a global specialty insurer and reinsurer. The program is supported by financial strength ratings of “A” from AM Best and “A+” from S&P.
According to DUAL, the programme offers a range of surety products including commercial, contract and international bonds. These are supported by the firm’s underwriting team, which works with brokers and clients to structure solutions for projects requiring surety coverage.
Mike McKenna, Head of North America at AXIS, added: “The decision to expand capacity in the Surety space is a testament to the DUAL team’s ability to build this business while providing best in class underwriting expertise. AXIS looks forward to continuing to find ways to grow our footprint and innovate to serve clients in the surety market with our trusted partner DUAL.”
The increase in programme capacity forms part of DUAL’s wider strategy to develop its surety offering while responding to demand from clients seeking larger bond limits for complex projects.
