AXA XL restructures E&S casualty leadership

Re/insurer AXA XL has unveiled its new excess & surplus (E&S) casualty product leads in the US, including a senior hire from QBE.

Ankur Chokshi has been promoted to head of E&S primary casualty and brokerage and binding authority. Based in Chicago, Chokshi previously served as E&S's central regional vice president. He joined AXA XL in 2013 as an E&S underwriter with more than a decade of underwriting experience at CoverX and Chubb.

Chokshi will assume the leadership of AXA XL's binding authority and brokerage insurance operation, which provides multi-line E&S insurance solutions, from Karl Fischbach.

Fischbach will continue in his role as a wholesale broker, programmes and binding relationship leader, where in addition to ongoing responsibilities he will focus on developing the company's small to medium commercial business.

Meanwhile, Kimberly Smid has been appointed to lead AXA's excess casualty E&S business. Smid joins AXA XL's New York office from QBE where she served as an E&S underwriting manager, leading the national excess casualty team. She has previously worked with CNA, Swiss Re and AIG.

Both Chokshi and Smid will report to Matt O'Malley, head of AXA XL's E&S casualty business.

"The E&S casualty market fills a critical void of coverage for many businesses that don't fit the standard insurance lines' mold," said O'Malley. "Throughout their careers, Ankur and Kim have developed considerable industry knowledge and underwriting skill for addressing these hard-to-place risks.

"We're pleased to be able to develop E&S underwriting talent like Ankur and continue to attract top market talent like Kim to our team. Their high level of expertise and commitment to the E&S market put our clients' most challenging liability exposures in very good hands."

AXA XL's E&S casualty business offers general liability coverages including commercial general liability, products liability, and discontinued products liability insurance and excess casualty coverages including standalone commercial umbrella.

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