The Chairman's Blog
Chairman and CEO of DUAL International, Bob Van Gieson, comments on DUAL group news, the worldwide insurance industry and general updates in his new blog.
02/11/11
I continue to be amazed at the accomplishments of the organisation. Regardless of location, we continue to significantly outperform our markets in which we do business. If I could I would shake the hand of every employee.
How do we do it?
Great question I will give you my opinion after many years in the business.
We provide our Brokers with a level of service that is unique to the market place and consistent in all of our territories. We continue to fulfil the promises we make in the insurance contracts. We have expanded a number of binders we have around the world, which has allowed us to respond to opportunities as they vary within the market places we do business.
Is there a common thread?
I really believe it is the quality of our staff and their focus in achieving their annual plans. As always our service is a differentiating factor to our success in all territories in which we compete.
Is there a secret within our organisation?
I believe we have created an environment within the entire Hyperion Group which I refer to as "Bureaucracy Light".
What has it done for us?
I think the opportunity we get to hire better people because they become very frustrated with their current employers by attending meetings, some of which are meant to plan the next meeting or writing reports that they know nobody looks at, care about, or have a real influence over the business.
We certainly care about our people and one never knows about the chicken or the egg. All I know is that these results are as a result of a lot of hard work and commitment by focused people.
I am enormously proud of the results this year not only showing fantastic growth but also exceeding targets, details of which will be published shortly. I marvel at our continued progress of revenue growth and profitability in spite of the market conditions in which we find ourselves.
I said in my last annual report that all MGAs are not created equal and we continue to prove that applies very much to the DUAL operation.
More closely to home Butler and Bentley, currently 72 lbs are progressing well in Palm Beach. Each night they go to the beach and enjoy the waves and the wind. They like the fact the weather is no longer 105 degrees and I will make sure I continue to provide pictures of their progress.
Kind regards
RTVG
12/07/11
As I sit in Palm Beach Florida I get lots of time to think and plan (probably a very dangerous environment). The market continues to be competitive with PI rates being at levels that are truly unsustainable. It appears that for many underwriters and their calculators, 2 plus 2 no longer equals 4!!!!!
The industry continues to suffer extraordinary catastrophe losses without any significant movement of rates across the board. After so many years in the business I don’t understand the industry’s position. It would appear that “the fragrance of the premium is covering up the stench of the future losses”.
It strikes me that we make promises to our clients about paying losses and that is really all we sell. It is therefore incumbent upon us to manage our business so that we are always in a position to fulfill those promises. Service sells and that is what gets us business. Responding to our promises keeps our business and reflects on us and our culture. I have always believed that if you make correct underwriting choices then when losses occur we represent our client’s interest which should in part be the retention mechanism for keeping the well underwritten business we worked so hard to secure.
There are segments of our business which require an immediate and significant rate movement and that is how I believe we need to deal with our clients. If they are not prepared to recognise 2 plus 2 equals 4 then maybe our underwriting decision wasn’t right after all!!!!
On a personal note, Butler and Bentley are enjoying the sun, however the heat somewhat overcomes them, but so far so good. Bentley’s progress - he now has 4 paws in the water rather than 2, or being terrified.
I will try to stay in touch more frequently through this blog.
RTVG
31/05/11
Dear All,
2011 continues to be an exciting year for DUAL with the Group's earnings for the year already ahead of plan. All our offices are performing extremely well.
Our newest office, DUAL New Zealand commenced operations on 7th March from its office in Auckland. This is an exciting development and an opportunity for the Group to continue its Asia-Pacific expansion.
Our UK operation, DUAL Corporate Risks has launched a new product for computer consultants and contractors.
We have also recently launched a Property Insolvency Scheme at DUAL Ireland.
DUAL Australia has secured additional Lloyd's capacity following the establishment of an arrangement with the Barbican Syndicate and this will compliment its existing arrangements with the Arch and Hiscox syndicates. In addition, they have developed a Corporate underwriting unit with selected underwriters writing only Corporate business. DUAL Australia has also announced a loyalty programme known as the DUAL Club which provides benefits to their key supporting brokers such as higher brokerage and preferential service etc.
A great achievement and milestone was reached for our Hong Kong operation which commenced operations in 2009 and in March boasted 500 policyholders.
As you will know, at DUAL we put a great deal of emphasis on providing the best possible service and so we are always looking at ways to streamline our business processes. As part of DUAL Australia's expansion into the Corporate segment, they have decided to establish their own internal financial lines claims capability whilst DUAL Corporate Risks has announced a new partnership with Kennedy's to enhance their claims service.
Most recently, DUAL Italia announced an agreement with Intesa Sanpaolo Group, the largest bank in Italy and one of the largest in Europe, to sell Directors' and Officers' policies through all of the bank's branches which service corporate clients.
You can read more about all of these news items in addition to news from all of our offices by visiting their respective websites through our Offices page or by choosing a country from the drop down list which you will see at the top right hand side of this page.
Those of you who read my last blog may be interested to hear that Butler & Bentley are safely ensconced in West Palm Beach having travelled on a Virgin flight, although Anne was very stressed about the whole process. Bentley immediately went into the pool, remembered he had lived there before and was as happy as Larry! We have learned that Bentley is afraid of water, especially inflatable rafts in pools! They are finding the heat in Florida a little oppressive but otherwise they both seem to be prospering.
I wish you all a very successful month ahead and look forward to bringing you the next update.
With kindest regards
RTVG
15/12/10
Dear All,
I am pleased to write this blog to wish you all a Happy Holidays and the very best for 2011.
Reflecting on the last year, 2010 has been a testing time for the majority of the insurance market, and for the DUAL group it has been no different. However, now more than ever I believe that our core value, in providing a Superior Service to our clients, is the driving force behind our success, enabling us to achieve against the odds, a successful growth and achievement over the past 12 months.
In times of economic uncertainty we all require a little extra reassurance when it comes to spending and in our market, a product guarantee and adequate expertise to advise and guide you when it comes to your business is even more valuable. This is where DUAL always succeeds, with our expertise and dedication to deliver a great service.
In terms of new developments to report, one of the newest additions to DUAL has been the launch of our E - Business division to our UK Operation, DUAL Corporate Risks. Appointing Tim Grant from Brit Insurance to head up this exciting new operation, this follows the decision to develop an e-trading SME business. With a proven track record with insurance and financial services organisations in Tim, this new division is one that I am personally excited to see unfold both here in the UK and across the DUAL group.
Elsewhere Italy celebrated their 10th Anniversary, marking the end of an extremely pleasing year for DUAL Italia.
As a group our growth has been pleasing. GWP reported was £147m in the year to September compared to £107m in the previous year (a very good increase of 37%) and I look forward to 2011 when we will be announcing an exciting new developing in Asia Pacific and some interesting new product developments across the group.
Closer to home and on a personal level I am pleased to report that Bentley van Gieson (our gorgeous Golden Labrador) is growing at a rapid rate and still waking us every morning at 4am!!
I wish you all a happy and safe holiday break and look forward to a successful and exciting 2011 for us all.
Kindest Regards
RTVG
18/08/10
Dear clients, prospective clients and insurance colleagues around the world,
I am pleased to write my new blog following a somewhat hectic, yet exciting few months at DUAL International.
Since we launched our new website at the start of June our greatest venture has been our new partnership with Hiscox Insurance. This new relationship is one that I have been nurturing for a good few months and from 1st October Hiscox will be providing capacity for the DUAL Group’s operations in the UK, Ireland, Italy and Australia. Our hope is that in time other DUAL offices will join in this partnership and we will provide information on this as soon as we can.
Around the rest of the DUAL group news continues to be positive; our group, teams and product offerings continue to grow in a way that makes me immensely proud of our business. DUAL is built on providing an exceptional service and, with that as our core value, in a way that ensures our clients always benefit. On this I give great credit to the exceptional people that work for DUAL in all our territories to ensure this will continue to the case in the future.
In London the team at DUAL Corporate Risks introduced a new Property and Casualty division which opened for business on 16 August, headed up by Steve Price, which we are all very excited about, and which we hope will give way to new opportunities and protection for our clients.
DUAL Germany have recently secured new capacity with Newline enabling them to write up to 20m Euros limit for D&O and to continue to provide their clients with the highest level of service and protection that they’ve come to expect. This comes following a great increase in need for D&O in the German market.
Down under, DUAL Australia continue to go from strength to strength having recently appointed Peter Bailey as Chief Operating Officer. This will assist in driving the continued development of DUAL in the Asia Pacific region.
Elsewhere DUAL Iberica recently attended the Congress for Liability and Insurance, postioning themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the Spanish and Portuguese market and they are no doubt still celebrating their recent World Cup win!!
In addition there are many celebrations around the world as DUAL Italia gear up for their 10th anniversary party, our National Business Unit in Manchester, UK celebrates its 5th Year anniversary and DUAL Ireland celebrates its 1st year anniversary in the coming weeks!!
An exciting time for DUAL…with so much more to report on in the coming months…!!
On the home front, after many months of tedious negotiations with Anne, on Friday August 20th there will be a new addition to the Van Gieson household. Bentley, golden retriever – 8 weeks old, will join Butler, our yellow labrador – 11 years old, as one lucky lab, owned by Anne van Gieson.
After my first year with Dual and the Hyperion Group, I continue to enjoy working with the staff to continue our long history of successful growth. To that end, Rinku tells me July has been the most successful (revenue growth) month in our history. In spite of continuing rate pressure, the profitability of our business continues to be excellent. This is certainly a great accomplishment.
Well done everyone!
Bob
01/06/10
A note to you,
I am really excited to present our new DUAL International website to you. This website enforces everything we associate with the DUAL group; a Superior Service, Professionalism, Exceptional people and Tailored products.
In addition to this site we have also launched new DUAL country websites and would be thrilled if you could take the time to see what our offices are up to. You can navigate your way to these easily through our Offices pages. As with everything we do this site is designed with you, our clients and associates in mind so we really do value what you think. If you have any comments or suggestions on how we could improve or just to say that we’ve got it right – please drop me a line here.
Every month I will be writing a Chairman’s blog, so please check back here next month to gain a further insight into the DUAL group and our position in the worldwide insurance market.
Kind Regards
Bob Van Geison