DUAL launches M&A liability team

DUAL, the underwriting arm of the Hyperion Insurance Group, has launched a Frankfurt and London-based mergers and acquisitions (M&A) liability team.

Niki Demirbilek joins the team as global head of M&A insurance supported by up to €/$50 million of A-rated capacity from DUAL’s global partner.

Demirbilek previously held senior roles in Germany at AIG and then Zurich, where she headed the M&A business.

She will be joined by Janin Kauffmann, a lawyer specialising in M&A who also joins from Zurich. Both will be based in Frankfurt.

Jaco van der Merwe also joins the team and will be based in London. He joined DUAL last year having held a number of senior roles in AIG financial lines.

The team will focus on European business initially with ambitions to move into Asia-Pacific and the US

Demirbilek said: “This is a great opportunity to bring our specialist M&A expertise to DUAL’s exceptional distribution network. This sector is in need of support and I hope our credible proposition will help to fill that gap.”

Shane Doyle, chief executive officer (CEO), DUAL, added: “M&A is a critical new class of business for us and yet another opportunity for DUAL to demonstrate the breadth of our product offering and responsiveness to the needs of our customers.

“We have been fortunate to attract Niki and her team, some of the best known and most respected underwriters in these lines.”