DUAL unveils new specialty offering under ex-Travelers fine art guru in North America

DUAL North America, a part of Howden Group Holdings’ specialist underwriting arm DUAL Group, has launched a new fine art underwriting programme covering domestic and international risks.

The programme will be led by Casey Santangelo who joined DUAL in April 2022 as president of the fine art division and is responsible for programme development and management, underwriting, and all day-to-day operations.

Prior to joining DUAL, Santangelo spent 14 years at Travelers, where she built the “largest” fine art book of business at the company and went on to hold the position of regional underwriting officer, inland marine.

Beginning in January 2023, the fine art programme will provide coverage for museums, galleries and dealers, and private and corporate collectors. It will offer insurance products for a variety of art collections including paintings and sculptures, rare books and manuscripts, archaeological materials, antiques, and other objects of artistic or historic merit.

The programme will cover domestic and international risks and provide additional coverages including terrorism, flood, earthquake, defense costs, restoration, event cancellation, and more. Supported by a panel of insurers, the fine art programme will offer $30 million primary limits and $50 million excess limits with a minimum attachment point of $25 million for excess placements.

The products will be underwritten through appointed wholesale and retail brokers across the US.

Jon Knouse, chief property officer at DUAL North America, said: “This is a unique, yet widely applicable and valuable offering that we are really excited to offer our partners and network. We see a lot of opportunity to provide a much-needed coverage to the Property sector that they may not have access to. Our goal is always to provide the best expertise available for these specialty products, and that’s exactly what Casey brings to the table with this programme. We are thrilled to have her leading this business.”

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