Our Approach
Better insurance outcomes begin before the marketplace.
Most insurance programs are approached as transactions.
A renewal date approaches. Applications are updated. Loss runs are collected. A submission is sent to the market. Carriers are asked to provide a price.
We believe the work should begin much earlier.
The Duncan Group starts by understanding the risk, identifying opportunities to improve it, developing the underwriting case and determining how the marketplace should be approached.
Because insurance pricing is not only influenced by what a business does. It is influenced by how well the risk is managed, how clearly it is understood and how effectively that story is presented.
Two models
The difference is not simply what happens during renewal. The difference is what happens before it.
Traditional brokerage model
- 01Renewal approaches
- 02Applications updated
- 03Markets contacted
- 04Quotes received
- 05Proposal presented
- 06Policy bound
The Duncan Approach
- 01Understand
- 02Map
- 03Improve
- 04Position
- 05Transfer
- 06Manage
A broker cannot credibly ask an insurance carrier to view a risk differently if nothing about the risk has been understood, improved, documented or communicated differently. The Duncan process is designed to create that foundation.
Premium is an outcome.
Measurable exposure
- Revenue
- Payroll
- Property values
- Vehicle schedules
- Loss history
- Class codes
- Geography
Premium is influenced by measurable exposure. Those inputs matter.
But they do not always tell the whole story.
Two companies with similar revenue and payroll can represent very different risks. One may have formal safety procedures, disciplined subcontractor controls, experienced management, effective driver training, documented maintenance, strong claims practices and meaningful operational controls.
The other may not.
If the underwriter cannot see the difference, it may be difficult to price the difference.
That is why our work begins with the underlying risk—not simply the insurance application.
Uncertainty gets priced.
Underwriters make decisions with the information available to them.
When important details are missing, assumptions have to be made.
In a discipline built around evaluating uncertainty, those assumptions tend to be conservative.
The Duncan Group works to reduce unnecessary uncertainty. We help clients identify, document and communicate the practices, controls and improvements that differentiate their organizations.
The objective is not to manipulate underwriting. It is to help the underwriter evaluate the actual risk with better information.
Less context
- More uncertainty
- More conservative assumptions
More context
- Better understanding
- More informed underwriting
The six-stage Duncan Approach
- 01
Understand
- 02
Map
- 03
Improve
- 04
Position
- 05
Transfer
- 06
Manage
Understand
RiskDiagnostic
Every engagement begins with understanding.
RiskDiagnostic is our structured evaluation of the organization, operations, insurance program, claims history, contractual obligations, risk controls and areas of uncertainty.
We look beyond whether a policy exists.
The purpose is to establish a clear starting point.
Explore RiskDiagnosticWe want to understand
- What can go wrong
- How those risks are currently managed
- Where insurance is being relied upon
- Where risk is being retained
- Where contractual obligations exist
- Where important information may be missing
Map
Risk Mapping
Once the exposures are understood, we organize and prioritize them.
Not every risk should be treated the same way.
Some risks can be avoided. Some can be reduced. Some can be contractually transferred. Some can be retained. Some should be insured.
Risk Mapping helps create a structured view of how risk moves through the organization and where management attention and insurance capital may be most valuable.
- Avoid
- Exposures the organization should not take on at all.
- Reduce
- Exposures that can be materially improved through controls.
- Retain
- Exposures the organization is best positioned to absorb.
- Transfer
- Exposures moved contractually or to the insurance market.
- Finance
- Exposures that require a deliberate funding structure.
Improve
RiskGuard
Where meaningful opportunities exist, we develop a practical risk-management strategy.
RiskGuard is focused on improving the underlying risk before asking the insurance marketplace to evaluate it differently.
The objective is not to create paperwork for the sake of paperwork. It is to identify changes that can materially improve the organization's risk profile.
Explore RiskGuardDepending on the organization
- Safety practices
- Subcontractor controls
- Driver management
- Claims procedures
- Contractual risk
- Loss control
- Property protection
- Maintenance
- Training
- Compliance
- Business continuity
- Corrective actions following prior losses
Position
Underwriting & Premium Negotiation Strategy
A good risk still has to be understood.
Once the underlying risk has been evaluated and improvements have been identified, we develop the underwriting case.
A strong submission should do more than transfer data from an application to a carrier. It should answer the questions an underwriter is likely to have before those questions become objections.
Our premium negotiation strategy is not simply asking for a lower number. It is about creating a stronger case for why the risk deserves consideration.
We help the market understand
- What the organization does
- How it operates
- What has gone wrong historically
- What has changed
- What management is doing differently
- What controls are in place
- Why the future may look different from the past
Underwriting starts with data. Context completes the picture.
Insurance underwriting is grounded in measurable information. Exposure data, classifications, historical losses and actuarial experience create the foundation.
But the numbers do not always explain how an organization actually operates. That is where context matters.
What the data says
- Revenue.
- Payroll.
- Years in business.
- Loss history.
What the underwriter also needs to understand
- Management changed a driver qualification process.
- A contractor implemented formal subcontractor controls.
- A property owner completed roof replacements.
- A manufacturer redesigned a safety procedure after a serious loss.
- A company introduced documented training and accountability.
If those improvements never reach the underwriter, they cannot influence the underwriter's understanding of the risk. The Duncan Group's role is to help tell the whole story.
Transfer
Marketplace Execution
Once the strategy is developed, we approach the marketplace deliberately.
This is not simply a matter of sending the same submission to as many carriers as possible.
Where appropriate, we create competitive tension among qualified markets. The objective is not merely to obtain the lowest premium. It is to build the most appropriate risk-transfer structure for the client.
We consider
- Carrier appetite
- Industry specialization
- Underwriting philosophy
- Financial strength
- Claims capabilities
- Program structure
- Attachment points
- Deductibles and retentions
- Capacity
- Coverage breadth
- Market conditions
- Long-term fit
Alternative Risk Solutions
Traditional insurance is not always the only answer.
As organizations grow, traditional guaranteed-cost insurance may not always represent the most efficient way to finance risk.
For clients with the scale, loss profile and financial discipline to consider other approaches, The Duncan Group can help evaluate Alternative Risk Solutions in coordination with specialized strategic partners.
Our role is to help determine whether an alternative structure deserves consideration and coordinate the appropriate expertise when it does.
Explore Alternative Risk SolutionsPotential structures
- Group captives
- Single-parent captives
- Cell or rent-a-captive structures
- Large-deductible programs
- Loss-sensitive programs
- Self-insured structures
- Higher retention strategies
- Other alternative risk-financing arrangements
Manage
Ongoing Risk Management
Binding the policy does not complete the process.
It begins the next phase.
The Duncan Group works throughout the year through a structured service calendar designed to keep risk management, claims, stewardship and renewal preparation active long before the next expiration date.
The relationship should not disappear after binding and reappear 60 days before renewal.
The service year
- 01
Ongoing service
- 02
Claims & loss review
- 03
Risk management
- 04
Executive stewardship
- 05
Data collection
- 06
Underwriting preparation
- 07
Renewal strategy
- 08
Market decisions
- 09
Implementation
RiskAtlas
The process needs a place to live.
RiskAtlas is The Duncan Group's proprietary client-facing insurance and risk-management workspace. It helps organize the information, documents, service activity and ongoing risk-management work that supports the Duncan process.
Technology does not replace the relationship. It helps keep the relationship organized, transparent and active.
Explore RiskAtlasClients maintain visibility into
- Policies
- Documents
- Requests
- Claims information
- Renewal activity
- Risk-management initiatives
- Ongoing service
The objective is not a cheaper policy. It is a better risk decision.
- Sometimes better strategy results in lower premium.
- Sometimes it results in broader coverage.
- Sometimes it changes the deductible structure.
- Sometimes it identifies a risk that should not have been insured at all.
- Sometimes it leads to a captive or alternative financing discussion.
- Sometimes it confirms that the current insurance program is already doing its job.
The value of the process is not predetermined. The value is making the decision with better information.
This process is not for every buyer.
If the primary objective is simply to collect another insurance quote, The Duncan Group may not be the right fit.
Our process works best with organizations that want to understand their risk, improve where improvement is possible and approach the insurance marketplace with a deliberate strategy.
If you are satisfied with the risk-management plan already in place, the existing underwriting strategy and the way your organization is being represented to the market, there may be little reason to change.
But if you believe the insurance conversation should go deeper, we should talk.
Start a conversation.
Tell us about your organization, your current insurance program and what prompted you to take another look.