AXA XL Names Mike Gazzard To Lead Bermuda Professional Lines Team

AXA XL has promoted Mike Gazzard to senior vice president and errors and omissions (E&O) product line leader of its Bermuda Insurance Professional Lines team.

Mr. Gazzard, who reports to Matthew Irvine, AXA XL's Bermuda Professional Lines chief underwriting officer, previously was a vice president and senior underwriter. He is responsible for managing and setting the Bermuda Professional Lines team's E&O insurance portfolio strategy. In addition, he has underwriting authority for multiple professional lines products including directors and officers (D&O), employment practices liability, and wage and hour.

Mr. Gazzard's underwriting career of more than 8 years has focused primarily on Fortune 1000 companies and professional service firms. He joined AXA XL in 2019.

Prior to joining AXA XL, Mr. Gazzard was a professional liability underwriter at Liberty Specialty Markets. There he was involved in the underwriting of UK and US E&O and D&O business. Before joining the insurance industry, Mr. Gazzard worked for 11 years at SMN Investment Services, where his primary function was commodity trading for a managed futures fund.

"Since joining AXA XL, Mike has played a critical role in strategically strengthening our E&O portfolio and advancing our Professional Lines market leadership position," Mr. Irvine said in a statement. "His commitment to enhancing relationships with brokers and clients, especially during the past 2 challenging years of the pandemic, has been extremely valuable and is commendable."

Mr. Gazzard holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Toronto. He has completed the Insurance Institutes' qualifications in cyber-risk management and holds a Registered Professional Liability Underwriter designation.