United Risk has agreed to acquire DUAL North America's Crisis Management program and underwriting team, CEO Hayden Smith announced.
Following the completion of the deal, the unit will be renamed First Product Protection and operate as an independent division within United Risk, adding product recall and contaminated product coverages to the company's portfolio. Targeted sectors include food and beverage, transportation, consumer and industrial electronics, among others. The acquisition reflects United Risk's strategy to expand its specialty insurance offerings and enter the product risk space, which includes coverage for losses due to product contamination or recalls. The addition of the crisis management team provides the company with established underwriting expertise and client relationships in sectors where such risks are increasingly relevant.
According to Smith, Mark LeBlanc and Robley Moor, founders of the program, are expected to take leadership roles at First Product Protection. He added that program leadership, along with underwriting and claims staff, will join United Risk, ensuring continuous operations for all brokers and insureds.
The merger is also intended to strengthen United Risk's partnerships with reinsurers and brokers, including connections to Lloyd's of London, by broadening the range of products and services offered, the company said.
Commenting on the deal, DUAL North America CEO John Johnson said the transaction is a strategic step in DUAL's broader effort to focus on its core growth areas, including other commercial property, casualty and financial lines, as well as emerging specialty markets. He added that United Risk has been a partner and that the acquisition is the right fit for the business.
Meanwhile, Jamie Sahara, chairman of United Risk, said that the company's value lies in quality and diversification and First Product Protection immediately adds value to the enterprise by complementing United Risk's program managers and varied lines of businesses, while further strengthening business ties with Lloyd's.
LeBlanc, who will be based at United Risk's Rockefeller Plaza in New York, has 25 years of experience in product contamination, product recall, security risk management and crisis management. He previously served as managing principal for DUAL Group, as well as held positions in casualty and specialty underwriting and brokerage at CV Starr, Hiscox, Marsh and AIG.
Moor, who will be based in United Risk's London office, has more than 25 years of experience in specialty underwriting and insurance leadership, most recently serving as managing director of crisis management at DUAL UK, London. Earlier in his career, he held roles in casualty and specialty re/insurance underwriting at Swiss Re America and Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, including head of North American casualty with product leadership responsibility for the US and Canada.
The merger follows a trend in the insurance market where companies are consolidating specialized programs to strengthen product offerings and scale operations in niche lines.
By integrating DUAL's crisis management team, United risk positions itself to respond to growing demand from businesses seeking coverage for product-related losses, particularly in industries with complex supply chains or high regulatory oversight. The transaction is also expected to provide United Risk with additional underwriting capacity and access to DUAL's established client base.
The deal is expected to close early in 2026. First Product Protection will be headquartered at United Risk's New York offices at 50 Rockefeller Center.
Howden Capital Markets & Advisory served as exclusive financial advisor to DUAL North America.
