Axa Commercial appoints new director of SME intermediary

Axa Commercial has appointed Paul Tombs as the new director of its SME intermediary business.

Tombs, who will bring 20 years of insurance industry experience to the role, is set to take up his new position in the summer.

He will be tasked with leading the SME business and talking to brokers about how it can be further improved.

“I’m really excited to be joining Axa Commercial and leading the SME business,” Tombs said.

“I look forward to getting to know the team and understanding from them – and Axa’s brokers – all the great things already being done and also the areas they think need to be improved.”

Tombs spent 18 years of his career at insurer Zurich, where he worked across underwriting, marketing and proposition development.

He also led the insurer’s SME business through a digital transformation and broker service improvements.

Tombs’ career has also seen him be a director of Polaris, while he also set up and ran the UK operation of Yarowa, an insurtech company that helps insurers digitise their processes.

Deepak Soni, director at Axa Commerical, said: “We look forward to welcoming Paul to our team in the summer.

“His expertise will be crucial in helping us to create a seamless digital customer experience for our SME intermediary customers, which is central to our commercial business strategy.”

James CowenJames is the deputy news editor at Insurance Times and joined the publication after several years working as a reporter.

His career began in 2019, when he joined a local north London newspaper after graduating from the University of Sheffield with a first-class honours degree in journalism.

Now working within the insurance sector, James has a particular focus on motor, M&A activity and financial reporting.