NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — XL Group, which plans to redomicile to Bermuda this year, hired former Zurich Insurance Group executive Dan Riordan as president of a new unit that guards commercial clients against risks that political tension could disrupt international trade or erode the value of operations overseas.

Riordan will join on May 2 and be based in the US, reporting to Neil Robertson, chief executive officer of global specialty insurance, the Dublin-based company said yesterday in a statement. The global political-risk and trade-credit business, which was previously part of the crisis-management operation, becomes a separate underwriting unit under Riordan.

Chief executive officer Mike McGavick has been reshaping XL to focus on commercial coverage, selling a stake in a home insurer and exiting life policies in recent years, while buying Catlin Group last year for about $4 billion. The insurer also been expanding capabilities, including the introduction of an alternative capital unit in 2013.

“We have appointed Dan and made changes to our structure because we want to fully focus on developing our share of this significantly growing market,” Robertson said in the statement, referring to political risk and trade credit. “Global geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty has led to an increase in demand, and over time we will be looking to add further resources in our key underwriting regions to respond to this growth opportunity.”

Riordan previously worked at Zurich, where he was CEO of global corporate in North America, and left in 2015 to start Dan Riordan Associates LLC, according to his LinkedIn profile. Zurich, based in the Swiss city of the same name, has come under pressure in recent months after losses in its general insurance operation.

The insurer has said it has taken steps to improve profitability at that operation, including cutting jobs and exiting part of a US transportation business.