AXA XL has announced the appointment of Andy MacFarlane to the newly created role of head of climate. In the role, MacFarlane will be responsible for developing a single, global climate strategy for AXA XL and ensuring the division’s climate-related efforts help to further AXA’s climate leadership position.
“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,” said Scott Gunter, CEO of AXA XL. “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 began his career in 2001 at Equitas in London and joined the Catlin Group in 2003. After holding various actuarial roles in London and Bermuda, he was promoted to head of pricing and analytics for London and Bermuda at AXA XL in 2018.
MacFarlane has extensive experience working on initiatives and research projects aimed at creating resilience to climate change. One of his key focuses has been the protection gap – the gap between economic and insured losses – particularly in developing economies where more than 90% of the risk is typically uninsured. MacFarlane also leads AXA XL’s public sector practice group.
