MacFarlane named Head of Climate at AXA XL

AXA XL, the commercial property & casualty insurance and reinsurance arm of the AXA Group, has named senior employee Andrew  (Andy) MacFarlane as its first Head of Climate.

The new role will see MacFarlane take on responsibility for developing a single, global climate strategy for AXA XL, with a goal of aligning this with and helping to further parent AXA’s climate leadership position.

Scott Gunter, CEO of AXA XL, explained, “AXA’s climate strategy demonstrates our clear commitment to climate and biodiversity and includes actions such as divesting from certain carbon-intensive industries alongside launching and chairing the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) to accelerate the transition to net-zero emissions economies.

“As a signatory of the UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance, AXA XL is committed to taking a leading role in working with our clients and business partners to raise awareness of climate issues, manage risk and develop solutions to create a more sustainable society.

“Andy’s expertise and knowledge of our business will allow us to further advance our understanding and response to climate change by ensuring we continue to understand how the climate is evolving and how this impacts our overall strategy. Andy is charged with embedding our climate strategy across AXA XL from underwriting to claims, to risk and operations ensuring that we meet our climate leadership ambitions.”

MacFarlane was most recently Managing Director and Head of Pricing & Analytics for London & Bermuda, AXA XL Reinsurance.

He began his career at Equitas in London in 2001, before joining the Catlin Group in 2003 and then held a number of actuarial roles in London and Bermuda.

He has worked on initiatives and research projects designed to promote resiliency to climate change throughout the world, with a key focus on the need to close the protection gap, particularly in developing economies.

MacFarlane also leads the Public Sector Practice group at AXA XL.

We previously interviewed MacFarlane about AXA XL’s work on the Ocean Risk Index and his thoughts about the resilience bond structure.

AXA XL has a well-established insurance-linked securities (ILS) and third-party capital practice, which no doubt will play a role in the firm’s climate related work.

Also, as environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards are increasingly adopted in reinsurance and ILS markets, there will be opportunities for globally active carriers, like AXA XL, to gain support from new investors with ESG mandates to back their climate focused underwriting.