Devonshire Underwriting Partner, James Dodd, talks to Mark Geoghegan for The Voice of Insurance podcast
Devonshire Underwriting Partner, James Dodd, sat down with the Voice of Insurance podcast host, Mark Geoghegan, to talk about Devonshire’s operations to-date, why James and his three fellow partners – Natasha Attray, Charles Turnham and James Fletcher – saw an opportunity in the market, and a little about his career so far, which has led him to the world of insurance.
On how things are going at Devonshire, and its quick but sustainable rise from four original founders to eight people – and a ninth on the way – James said: “We’re now eight people. We started with the four founders, then brought in an Underwriting Manager, Sam Jeater. We then hired another Underwriting Manager, Mike Grant, and we have two excellent analysts, Ellie and Henry. We do have another joiner in December on the Tax side. We’re looking to grow but we want to make sure we’re maintaining quality in our products and our offering, and not growing too quickly.”
James also talked in depth about W&I insurance, citing its evolution in recent years: “Brokers have become more sophisticated and lawyers are using this more and more, and that’s really driven coverage to be expanded.”
James later goes on to offer an outlook on the M&A market in 2025, describing where Devonshire is unique and can offer bespoke services to clients and what makes a good underwriter: “The critical thing for any underwriter in this space is is is having the ability to be able to step back and look at the bigger picture, to have flexibility and also have appetite for risk. We obviously are providing an insurance product here. We do have to be willing to take on that risk.”
Listen to the full episode on Podbean here.
