Bermuda-based XL Capital's Clive Tobin will step down as chief executive of insurance operations as the latest in a string of announced changes at the insurer.

The insurance giant announced yesterday that Mr. Tobin will be succeeded by David Duclos, chief operating officer of insurance operations, and he is the third top executive at the company to announce he will be stepping down, following decisions in recent months by chairman Michael Esposito Jr. and cheif executive officer Brian O'Hara to retire from their respective posts.

But XL revealed Mr. Tobin's decision to step down from his role was completely unrelated to the other two, Mr. Esposito and Mr. O'Hara.

XL's director of communications Carol Parker-Trott said: "As far as the recent management changes go, the one that was announced today (Monday) regarding Mr. Tobin, is totally separate to those regarding Mr. Esposito and Mr. O'Hara."

She said the moves would allow Mr. Esposito to focus on his duties as chairman of bond insurer Security Capital Assurance Ltd., which is 46 percent owned by XL, while Mr. O'Hara, who is acting chairman of XL and has said he would step down as CEO in the middle of this year, was retiring as a diector of Security Capital in the "best interest of XL and XL shareholders".

Ms Trott added that Mr. Tobin's move was "more of an operational change".

Mr. Tobin will leave the insurance operations CEO post effective of April 1, but will stay on as vice-chairman of XL Insurance and work on the company's development in Brazil, the company said.

A long-standing member of the organisation, Mr. Tobin joined XL in 1995 after starting his career at Price Waterhouse in London and going on to become president of Rockefeller Financial Services and president of Acadia Risk Management Services Inc - a brokerage and risk management consulting company for the Rockefeller Family and Associates, and prior to that was vice-president of risk management services with Marsh & McLennan.

In 2004, he was appointed chief executive of XL's insurance operations, having previously served as chief executive of XL insurance global risk, the large commercial risk management division of XL Insurance, between 2001 and 2004, and, prior to that, was president of XL Insurance (Bermuda) Ltd. in 1999 and vice-president of XL Re Ltd. in 1995.

XL gained $1.59 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $51.48, earlier yesterday in New York, while Security Capital fell 31 cents to $3.16 and is down 88 percent in the past year.

XL's third-quarter profit fell 13 percent to $371.6 million on investment losses.