International Underwriting Agencies

What International Underwriting Agencies does

DUAL New Zealand (legal entity: International Underwriting Agencies) is a specialty insurance underwriting agency headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, with a second office in Wellington. Founded in 1997, the firm operates as an agent that issues insurance products on behalf of Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's of London and HDI Global Specialty, distributing them exclusively through insurance brokers across New Zealand. It serves as the New Zealand arm of the global DUAL underwriting agency network, which collectively offers more than 70 specialty insurance products across 90 territories; the NZ entity offers 14 of those products locally across Cyber, Financial Lines (D&O, Professional Indemnity, Management Liability, Crime Protection, Association Liability, IT Liability), Liability (Employers, General, Statutory), Motor, Property, and Transaction Solutions (Title Insurance and Warranty & Indemnity).

The firm's core technology asset is WebRater, an online quoting and binding platform that provides brokers with instant 24/7 quotations across 8 specialty products, supplemented by DUAL School — an educational content platform offering webinars and training — and a Document Library for policy wordings and proposal forms. Distribution is dual-channel: traditional broker relationships for complex or larger risks, and self-serve WebRater for standardised quoting and binding. The firm describes its value proposition as combining entrepreneurial underwriting independence with the capacity backing of Lloyd's and HDI Global Specialty, enabling fast, informed underwriting decisions on specialty risks that standard insurers are reluctant to write.

The business model is that of an underwriting agency: DUAL NZ earns commissions and fees on premiums written, with pricing determined by quote-based risk profiling rather than published rate cards. Customers are insurance brokers and intermediaries (primarily SMB segment), and end-clients access DUAL's products indirectly through those broker relationships. The firm does not appear to have disclosed equity ownership, venture, or private equity backing in the available data; it operates as an independent agency with capacity provided by institutional reinsurance partners.

Name

International Underwriting Agencies

Legal name

DUAL New Zealand

Website

https://iua.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DUAL New Zealand is a specialty insurance underwriting agency that issues cyber, financial lines, liability, motor, property, and transaction solutions policies on behalf of Lloyd's of London and HDI Global Specialty, distributing them to insurance brokers across New Zealand via WebRater and traditional broker channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Insurance Underwriting

NAICS

Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities (5242), Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (524210), Insurance Carriers and Related Activities (524)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411), Fire, Marine & Casualty Insurance (6331), Title Insurance (6361)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Insurance Brokerage (Marine, Aviation, Cyber, Professional Lines) (FSAEADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Standalone Cyber Liability Insurance (FSAJAOAA)

Keywords

• Specialty insurance underwriting
• Cyber insurance products
• Professional indemnity coverage
• Liability insurance solutions
• Underwriting agency services

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Insurance Underwriting Premiums: DUAL New Zealand issues insurance products and earns premiums from underwriting specialty insurance products including cyber, financial lines, liability, motor, property, and transaction solutions. The company operates as an underwriting agency on behalf of capacity providers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

DUAL New Zealand operates as a specialty insurance underwriting agency issuing insurance products on behalf of Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's of London and HDI Global Specialty. The company offers 14 specialty insurance products across New Zealand including cyber, financial lines, liability, motor, property, and transaction solutions, distributed exclusively through insurance brokers via the WebRater digital quoting platform.

Product overview

DUAL New Zealand is one of the world's largest international underwriting agencies operating as a specialty insurance provider. The company offers a portfolio of 14 distinct insurance products across New Zealand (with more than 70 products worldwide), organized into product categories including Cyber Insurance, Financial Lines (covering Association Liability, Crime Protection, Directors & Officers, Information Technology, Management Liability, and Professional Indemnity), Liability (Employers, General, and Statutory), Motor, Property, and Transaction Solutions (Title Insurance and Warranty & Indemnity). The company operates two digital platforms: WebRater, an online quoting and binding system for brokers offering 8 products for instant quotation, and DUAL School, an educational resource platform. DUAL New Zealand issues products as an agent on behalf of Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's of London and HDI Global Specialty, with operations supported by 50 employees across Auckland and Wellington offices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cyber Insurance Insurance coverage protecting businesses against cyber risks, including data breaches, network damage, and cyber attacks. DUAL partners with KYND to strengthen this offering with cyber risk management technology.
• Financial Lines Insurance
• Liability Insurance
• Motor Insurance
• Property Insurance
• Transaction Solutions
• Title Insurance
• Warranty & Indemnity (W&I) Insurance
• WebRater Online Quoting Platform
• DUAL School
• Document Library

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's of LondoncoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerDUAL New Zealand issues insurance products as an agent on behalf of Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's of London. Lloyd's provides the reinsurance capacity and backstop for DUAL's specialty insurance products.
• HDI Global SpecialtycoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerDUAL New Zealand issues insurance products as an agent on behalf of HDI Global Specialty. HDI provides specialty insurance capacity backing for DUAL's product range.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• AIG New Zealand: AIG's NZ operation is a major incumbent carrier writing broad P&C, financial lines, and specialty coverages through brokers. Highly comparable as a competing underwriter with deep broker distribution, but AIG writes direct as a carrier rather than as an underwriting agency.
• Chubb Insurance New Zealand: Chubb is a global specialty and P&C carrier with an established NZ presence writing D&O, professional indemnity, cyber, and liability through brokers. Overlaps with DUAL's specialty portfolio but operates as a direct carrier with broader global scale.
• Vero Insurance New Zealand: Vero (part of IAG) is a major NZ general insurer writing commercial property, liability, and motor through brokers. Overlaps with DUAL on commercial P&C and liability lines but operates at much larger scale as a direct carrier rather than an underwriting agency.
• Allianz Australia & New Zealand: Allianz is a global insurer with NZ operations writing commercial P&C, liability, motor, and specialty lines through brokers. Comparable commercial product overlap with DUAL but operates as a large direct carrier rather than an underwriting agency.

Direct peers

• Liberty Specialty Markets: Liberty Specialty Markets operates a Lloyd's-backed underwriting platform writing financial lines, cyber, property, and casualty specialty insurance through brokers. Closely mirrors DUAL's underwriting-agency model with Lloyd's capacity and similar specialty product mix.
• Beazley: Beazley is a Lloyd's-based specialty insurer focused on cyber, financial lines, and specialty risks distributed through brokers. Direct competitor in the specialty cyber and D&O space where DUAL also competes, with similar broker-led distribution.
• Hiscox: Hiscox operates a specialty underwriting platform in NZ and globally focused on professional indemnity, D&O, cyber, and specialty commercial lines through brokers. Comparable specialist positioning with broker distribution and emphasis on SME/specialty segments.
• Tokio Marine Kiln: Tokio Marine Kiln is a Lloyd's managing agent writing specialty lines including cyber, financial lines, and property through international brokers. Closely comparable specialty underwriting-agency model with Lloyd's capacity and broker-led distribution.

Emerging players

• CFC Underwriting: CFC is a specialist Lloyd's-syndicate underwriter with strong cyber and emerging-risk capabilities distributed through brokers globally. Direct competitor in cyber specialty with a more technology-forward underwriting model than traditional carriers.

Regional players

• Allied Insurance (NZ): Allied Insurance is a New Zealand-focused underwriting agency/broker-distributor writing specialty commercial and trade credit insurance. Most direct comparable as an NZ underwriting agency competing for the same broker-distributed specialty premium.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iua

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about International Underwriting Agencies