AXIS to acquire renewal rights to DUAL NA’s excess liability business

AXIS Capital has agreed to acquire the renewal rights to the Excess Liability business of DUAL North America, a specialty program administrator and part of DUAL Group, the specialist underwriting arm of Howden Group. As part of the transaction, John Kopach, Executive Vice President of DUAL Excess Liability will join AXIS.

In his new role at AXIS, Kopach will serve as Head of Wholesale Lower Middle Market, succeeding Britt Smith who retired from the company in August. He will be based in the Company’s Atlanta office, reporting to Head of North America Mike McKenna.

“This transaction reflects the strong partnership and strategic relationship that AXIS shares with DUAL, and we are enthused to add this high-quality Excess Liability book to our Casualty platform. With this agreement, we are very excited to welcome John into the AXIS organization as head of our Wholesale Lower Middle Market unit.” – Mike McKenna.

“Our relationship with AXIS goes back many years, and this transaction is a reflection of how much that partnership continues to grow and evolve. It positions DUAL to double down on the parts of our Casualty business where we see the clearest path to lead, while giving this book a strong home to keep building on what’s been achieved. John has done excellent work growing this business, and we’re grateful for his contributions to DUAL. We wish him continued success at AXIS.” – Ed Ashby, Chief Executive Officer, DUAL North America.