AXA XL mulls ‘disruptive’ underwriting innovation in Americas

AXA XL Insurance has launched an underwriting innovation office in the Americas to drive innovation in support of business initiatives, appointing Rose Hall (Pictured), currently head of construction innovation, as head of innovation, Americas to lead activities.

The Americas Underwriting Innovation Office, under Hall's leadership, will liaise across AXA XL's business lines and support functions in the Americas, including client distribution, underwriting, risk engineering/consulting, among others, “to support innovation initiatives that range from incremental to disruptive.”

Hall will assure that AXA XL's Americas team is making optimal use of client feedback, strategic partnerships and technologies to help reduce risk for AXA XL and its customers, the company said.

Hall joined AXA XL in 2015 as a construction risk engineer and most recently served as vice president, head of construction innovation. Prior to her AXA XL tenure, she worked as a consultant providing litigation support and expert witness testimony services on construction-related claims and legal matters. Hall spent the first 10 years of her career in the construction industry, serving in various roles including design engineering, preconstruction, estimating, purchasing, project management, and risk management.

In her new role, Hall will report to the chief underwriting office for the Americas, Donna Nadeau, who said: “Rose has played a key role in turning a business-led initiative, like our Construction Ecosystem, into a broad-reaching service enhancement available to our clients. In her new role, she'll provide leadership and direction in the future development and implementation of ecosystems, technology solutions, and enhanced customer service initiatives.

“We're not innovating for innovation's sake. We're innovating so that we can create new products to address our clients' unanswered business challenges.  We're innovating to find new ways to help them curb the rising cost of risk.”

AXA XL’s Americas CEO Joe Tocco, added: "Innovating has long been part of every AXA XL colleague's job description and we've seen some incredible creativity across our business lines. With this launch, we're establishing a dedicated, regional resource to help us make the most of our strategic partnerships, deploy successful innovation across business lines, align with AXA Group's innovation plans, and more.  With her success in developing our Construction Ecosystem and other innovative initiatives, Rose has the right experience and the high level of energy necessary to take on this new role."

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