Underwriting agency Dual Australia has ended its underwriting relationship with Lumley Insurance and will instead underwrite solely on behalf of Lloyd’s syndicate Arch.

The new partnership, effective from December 1, will place Dual in the top three Lloyd’s coverholders in Australia with a $50 million book of business.

Dual International’s local subsidiary will also expand its product range by entering into the accident and health insurance market.

MD Damien Coates told insuranceNEWS.com.au the partnership with Arch will allow it to offer high-level security to clients through Lloyd’s A+ rating, compared to Lumley’s A- rating. He says this is important as Dual moves into the corporate space.

“After the global financial crisis and AIG’s problems, clients want the highest level of security possible,” he said. “Lloyd’s has been there for 320 years. There’s a flight to safety back to Lloyd’s at the moment with a lot of corporate clients.”

Mr Coates says the move also allows Dual to expand its product capability, which it wasn’t able to do with Lumley because of the competition.

Lumley CEO Vivek Bhatia says “changing dynamics” within each of the businesses prompted a review of the partnership.

The partnership only came about in 2006 when the companies agreed to underwrite professional lines classes to fix a licensing issue which has now been resolved. That business is reinsured by Arch, which recently established its own Lloyd’s syndicate.

Arch Insurance CEO James Weatherstone says with the creation of the syndicate it made sense to re-establish a direct partnership with Dual Australia as it has with Dual in the UK, Italy, Spain and Germany.