About us

The People First insurance group

Howden began in 1994, as just three people and a dog. Now there are 19,000 of us, and we're a leading global insurance group, managing $42bn of premiums for our clients.

We’ve grown by consistently challenging the status quo. Something that comes naturally to us, as an employee-owned business.

Employee ownership has created a culture where we’re driven to think bigger and empowered to challenge convention. We’re not afraid to break new ground when it comes to creating the best solutions for our clients.

The principle of employee ownership has been rooted at the heart of Howden since we were founded in 1994. Our vision was to create a workplace where people are consistently inspired to do their very best for the business, our clients and, vitally, for each other.

Our largest shareholder group is us – the people who work in the business – supported by three long-term, minority growth-equity partners who share our vision to build a business to last, one that will never be sold.

But taking ownership isn’t the preserve of a shareholder.

The owner's mindset is something that's embedded in our culture; our people readily take ownership of their decisions, their actions, and their outputs. They’re invested in every sense.

And we all know that by working together to drive the business forward, everyone will benefit from the extraordinary results we can achieve.

The owners’ mindset is something that's embedded in our culture; our people readily take ownership of their decisions, their actions, and their outputs. They’re invested in every sense.

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Our people are at the heart of what we do

From whisky businesses to world-changing clinical trials, our insurance policies make the world go round - and it's all thanks to the people at Howden.

What we do

As the world’s largest employee-owned insurance intermediary, our people are empowered to drive change, push boundaries and do things differently, throughout the insurance value chain.

RetailLearn more
Retail
We provide specialist insurance and risk management services direct to millions of clients all over the world, from individual private clients and SMEs to global corporations.
From our London HQ, international offices and vast network of trusted partners, we can tackle the toughest insurance challenges, with on-the-ground coverage in over 100 territories.
By working closely together, we are able to find effective solutions to complex scenarios, tailoring programmes, structures and wordings to each client's unique situation.
Specialisms vary from country to country, please see your local Howden Broking website for further details.
SpecialtyLearn more
Specialty
Our client proposition is centred around deep specialism, enabling us to readily understand our clients’ issues and provide insight and technical expertise that is second-to-none.
Whether the need is one product line or many, retail, wholesale or reinsurance, our approach is to link clients with the best coverage solutions from the best markets in the world.
We are embedded within all major international insurance markets to create bespoke solutions across all insurance classes.
No matter how complex the risk, and how exacting your requirements, we can create the team you need – wherever you are in the world.
With our flexibility, depth of resource, and hubs in the world’s key international insurance markets, we’re the broker of choice for clients, insurance partners, governments, national and multinational corporations and financial institutions all around the world.
Go to Specialty
WholesaleLearn more
Wholesale
Howden started out as a D&O wholesale broker back in 1994, and supporting our large network of broker partners remains a notable aspect of our offering.
Our partners value the strength of our relationships across the insurance world, as well as sophisticated product knowledge and sector expertise.
We pride ourselves on being responsive, open-minded and easy to work with.
All of these things make us the broker of choice for other brokers and professional insurance buyers looking for coverage, scale and value, as well as those needing specialist expertise around difficult or hard-to-place risks.
Find out more
UnderwritingLearn more
Underwriting
Founded in Spain in 1998, today DUAL operates from locations across Europe, Asia Pacific and the US, and is driven by a vision to be the world's best underwriting business.
DUAL has always taken a different approach to delivering excellence. The strong entrepreneurial spirit that runs through every part of the business empowers its people to develop products, services and processes that deliver consistently for their broker partners. It's how DUAL has become one of the world's largest international managing general agents.
DUAL connects some of the world's leading capacity providers, over 11,000 broker partners, and their clients by delivering expert and disciplined underwriting, leading-edge data, digital and analytics capabilities, and an innovative approach to traditional, underinsured and emerging risks.
Whatever you're aiming for as an intermediary, an employee, a capacity provider or a business partner, we're here to help you do more.
Visit DUAL
ReinsuranceLearn more
Reinsurance
Managing USD $17bn of GWP, Howden Re is one of the four top-tier global reinsurance brokers, and growing 3x faster than our competitors.
We offer our clients access to a global distribution network, data-driven reinsurance expertise, and market-leading talent – all underpinned by bespoke analytics and advisory services to enhance decision making.
But our service goes far beyond the placement.
We strategically partner with our clients to achieve superior results by thinking beyond the traditional reinsurance paradigm. We also offer a full suite of investment banking services.
Our expertise includes:
Treaty
Facultative
Capital markets advisory
Strategic advisory
MGA/programmes
Legacy liability solutions
Advanced analytics
Howden Re
Capital MarketsLearn more
Capital Markets
Our specialist teams bring expertise in a broad range of insurance carrier and insurance services companies and offers expertise in M&A, capital raising, and Insurance-Linked Securities.
We advise clients on effective strategies designed to drive the absolute best pricing and terms to achieve the lowest possible cost of capital, embracing a wide variety of company financing transactions including traditional methods, collateralised reinsurance (quota share, excess-of-loss, loss portfolio transfers, adverse development covers) and insurance-linked securities.
We offer an integrated approach to trading catastrophe risk including a trading platform for catastrophe bonds, industry loss warranties (ILWs) and parametric products in both derivative and reinsurance form. We are committed to being a leader in trading these ILS instruments.
Find out more about capital raising and ILS