DUAL launches new e-trading platform

DUAL Corporate Risks is creating a new e-trading platform for brokers and customers.

Head of e-business Tim Grant, said that electronic insurance platforms are likely to bring forward a better quality of risks, rather than being a home for distressed business.

Grant said: “Previously people believed e-trading would bring distressed business where customers or brokers did not want to be face to face with an underwriter.

"However, it would appear from recent experience that e-trading actually delivers a better quality of risks, because better customers who are faster to adapt are keen place their risks electronically. There is also a better quality spend because customers wish to trade higher volumes electronically because of the lower overheads.

He added: “This would seem to bear out with the experience of other industries which went through the transition to electronic trading. It tends to be the most sophisticated parties that take part at the outset at least.”

DUAL is initially using the e-trading platform to focus on distribution of its D&O & PI products among SMEs. The platform is described as a ‘complete business model project’ involving new capacity, additional products and new distribution partners.

Grant added: “The opportunities are huge for a company like us as we have no legacy to constrain us. We are therefore able to provide proper, functional e-trading for SME-focused brokers and customers themselves. SMEs, particularly sole traders and micro-SMEs of less than 10 people, account for 95% of business in the UK. This a £4bn market, so even 1% of that figure is a large amount.”