Hayden Smith, CEO of United Risk, an international property and casualty insurance underwriting and distribution platform, has announced that the company has signed an agreement to acquire DUAL North America’s Crisis Management program and underwriting team.
Once acquired, the unit will be renamed First Product Protection and will operate as an independent division within United Risk, adding product recall and contaminated products coverages to United Risk’s portfolio.
Targeted classes of business include food and beverage, transportation (aviation, aerospace, rail, auto), consumer and industrial electronics and appliances, communications equipment, sporting and recreational equipment, clothing apparel, footwear, toys, and furniture.
The transaction is expected to close early in 2026. First Product Protection will be headquartered in New York at United Risk’s offices at 50 Rockefeller Center.
Smith said that Mark LeBlanc and Robley Moor, who founded the program, are expected to assume leadership roles at First Product Protection.
Based at United Risk’s Rockefeller Plaza headquarters in New York, LeBlanc brings more than 25 years of industry experience, specialising in product contamination, product recall, security risk management, and crisis management.
Most recently, he served as managing principal at DUAL Group. Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President, Head of Crisis Management at Swiss Re. Earlier in his career, he held roles at Crum & Forster, CV Starr, Hiscox, Marsh, and AIG.
Based in the company’s London office, Moor brings more than 25 years of specialty underwriting and insurance leadership experience.
He joins from DUAL UK, London, where he most recently served as Managing Director, Crisis Management. Before that, Moor spent two decades at Swiss Re in various senior roles, including Head of North American Casualty with product leadership responsibility for US and Canada, and Senior Key Account Manager.
Smith commented, “Program leadership, along with underwriting and claims staff, will join United Risk ensuring continuous operations for all brokers and insureds.”
Jamie Sahara, Chairman of United Risk, said, “From the perspective of the entrepreneur, Mark and Robley have built quite an attractive business. United Risk’s value lies in quality and diversification, and First Product Protection immediately adds value to the enterprise by complementing United Risk’s strong bench of program managers, varied lines of business, diverse roster of fronts, reinsurers and brokers, while further strengthening business ties with Lloyd’s.”
John Johnson, CEO of DUAL North America, added, “This transaction is a strategic step in our broader effort to focus on DUAL’s core growth areas, including our other commercial property, casualty, and financial lines, as well as emerging specialty markets. We’re proud of the exceptional team and strong business DUAL Crisis Management has built over the past several years, and we’re confident they’ll continue to thrive as part of United Risk. United Risk has been an excellent partner and it’s clear this is the right fit for the business.”
Howden Capital Markets & Advisory served as exclusive financial advisor to DUAL North America.
