Axis Insurance, a division of Bermudian-based Axis Capital Holdings Ltd, announced that chief claims officer David Hayward will retire in March 2020 and will be succeeded by Michael Baumel, current head of North American claims.

After a six-month transition period, Mr Baumel will assume the chief claims officer role. He will join the Axis Insurance leadership team and report directly to Peter Wilson, the chief executive officer.

Mr Hayward will retire from Axis following a career that has spanned more than thirty years, with the past 17 years spent at Axis.

Mr Wilson said: “Dave’s contributions to Axis cannot be understated. He has played a fundamental role in shaping our claims management strategy and he conceptualised and implemented many of the approaches that have helped us establish a claims function that is widely recognised as one of the best in the specialty insurance industry.”

Mr Baumel has been with Axis Insurance for more than four years, serving as the Head of North American Claims and working directly with Mr Hayward. He has held multiple leadership roles in claims and in underwriting throughout his career, both in the United States and in Europe. This includes serving as senior vice-president, excess casualty claims, at Ace and multiple claims vice-president positions at CNA.

He began his insurance career at GE where he served as a global claims special services leader. Before entering the insurance industry in 1999, Mr Baumel practised law in Chicago for ten years, mostly as a public prosecutor. Mr Baumel graduated from DePaul College of Law in 1989.