Industry veteran Pranav Shroff has joined Bermudian-based Axis Capital Holdings Ltd as head of Life Sciences in North America.

The company said Mr Shroff will lead the development of a suite of specialty coverages in support of the life sciences industry, with an initial focus on Products Liability, Professional Liability and Clinical Trials Liability.

His responsibilities include executing on the underwriting strategy, cultivating relationships with the company’s distribution partners in this specialty segment, and building a team to support this initiative.

Mr Shroff joins Axis from The Doctors Company Specialty Underwriters, where he was vice-president. He also previously worked at Chubb, Ace and CNA.

He will be based in New York and will report to Michael McKenna, head of Axis North America, who said: “The launch of our Life Sciences offering under Pranav’s direction marks another exciting milestone in the growth story of Axis North America.

“This expansion into the niche life sciences industry practice area is a natural progression of our ambitions to be the leading specialty carrier in our chosen markets.

“Pranav has the experience and leadership to build our underwriting capabilities and develop strong ties in this space with our distribution partners thereby elevating solutions for our customers.”