Mike Gazzard has been promoted to senior vice-president and E&O product line leader of Axa XL’s Bermuda insurance professional lines team.

Mr Gazzard was previously a vice-president and senior underwriter, and is now responsible for managing and setting the Bermuda professional lines team’s Errors and Omissions insurance portfolio strategy.

Additionally, he has underwriting authority for multiple professional lines products including Directors and Officers, Employment Practices Liability and Wage and Hour.

His underwriting career of more than eight years has been primarily focused on Fortune 1000 companies and professional service firms.

Mr Gazzard, who joined the firm in 2019, reports to Matthew Irvine, Axa XL’s Bermuda professional lines chief underwriting officer.

Mr Irvine said: “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.

“His commitment to enhancing relationships with brokers and clients, especially during the past two challenging years of the pandemic, has been extremely valuable and is commendable.”

Patrick Tannock, CEO of AXA XL’s Bermuda insurance operations, added: “Mike is certainly an asset to our professional lines business, which is one of the largest and longest providers of E&O in the Bermuda market. Our position as a market leader is not fortuitous.

“It is the result of our commitment to attracting, developing and advancing talent at all levels of the organisation while cultivating a culture that is collaborative, inclusive and innovative, which allows us to be user-friendly and solution-oriented in meeting the needs of our clients.”

Before Axa XL, Mr Gazzard was a professional liability underwriter at Liberty Specialty Markets, involved in the underwriting of British and US E&O and D&O business.

Before the insurance industry, he was a commodity trader for 11 years at SMN Investment Services.