AXL XL, Americas, launched its Mid-Market business in Canada in 2025 and has continued to expand with key hires. Nearly a year in, Andrew Tartaglia and Chris Fallon discussed the reception from brokers and clients, the unique offerings that AXA XL presents and the opportunities that lie ahead.
Q: A year into the Mid-Market business launch in Canada, where is AXA XL now and where is it going?
Andrew Tartaglia: In the past year, we’ve expanded our industry verticals beyond the initial launch to now include financial institutions, technology, education, and health care. We’ve also expanded into construction. We’ve empowered our underwriters with the ability to make decisions at the local level and leveraged technology to increase responsiveness to brokers and clients.
We truly walk the walk when we refer to being long-term partners for our insureds. We’re not just there for them when the policy binds with us – we want to be valued beyond the policy. So, whether that’s with our stellar claims handling team, our risk engineering support team, or maintenance of the policies throughout their term, we’re here to help our clients in the rapidly changing global landscape as they expand their operations.
Q: Why is it important to offer service beyond the policy, particularly for middle market businesses?
Andrew Tartaglia: Middle market businesses are generally growing at a rapid pace and often have different needs than a large commercial organization. We provide bespoke coverages and technical expertise as our clients grow – acting as a partner in their growth journey. Middle market businesses don’t always have the resources to fully understand or manage the exposures they face. They often need a partner that can help them with that. That’s where we can come in and help them understand their risk, their exposure, and provide some custom solutions to address the unique needs of their industry segment or class of business.
Chris Fallon: Andrew makes a good point. A lot of the business that we’ve written to date has been because of our flexibility and ability to provide custom-tailored solutions to clients’ unique exposures. Our brokers and insureds have valued this flexibility and our ability to serve as a trusted partner to ensure our clients have the right coverage to address their evolving exposures.
Q: You mentioned AXA XL’s focus on industry verticals. Why do these particular industries make a good fit for what you can offer?
Andrew Tartaglia: In addition to construction, technology and financial lines, we also offer solutions for manufacturing, wholesale, distribution, real estate, retail, hospitality, business services, and professional services. These are all areas where we can provide custom solutions. We’ve also had considerable experience and success in supporting those business verticals in our large commercial business, so it makes sense for us to target and support them with a variety of offerings in the middle market segment.
We provide bespoke coverages and technical expertise as our clients grow – acting as a partner in their growth journey.
Q: Sticking to the industry vertical theme, AXA XL has a broader suite of product offerings available in Canada? Do you see those offerings filling a need for middle market clients?
Chris Fallon: AXA XL has a long history of serving the Canadian market across a wide array of coverages, including Environmental, Professional, and Cyber., to name a few. Working in close partnership with our AXA XL colleagues, we have been able to provide holistic custom solutions to brokers and clients that can meet a variety of their needs outside of your typical middle market property and casualty offering.
Q: AXA XL can offer multinational support for its clients. Why is it important for your clients in Canada to have this capability?
Andrew Tartaglia: We’re really here to be a trusted expert and global partner on complex risk, protecting what matters most to our clients. At AXA XL, we take pride in our global capabilities, so we’re excited to offer this unique capability to growing customers in the middle market space. Given the extent of the AXA XL global network, we can offer policies in key markets around the globe to ensure that we can provide clients with the solutions that best meet their needs.
Chris Fallon: A growing percentage of middle market companies in Canada are looking to expand internationally to realize their growth ambitions and find new sources of revenue. We have underwriters in the U.S. that support our Canadian team, which has made our coverage offering more seamless and streamlined for our clients.
It’s important to note that while we support each other with individual opportunities and share knowledge and insights across the globe and the border, we recognize the multitude of differences in legal and regulatory environments in different jurisdictions.
Q: In a competitive environment for middle market business in Canada, what is AXA XL doing to distinguish itself for clients and potential clients?
Andrew Tartaglia: We are differentiating ourselves in the competitive Canadian middle market by offering highly customized, industry-specific insurance solutions backed by deep technical expertise and flexible underwriting. We emphasize a long-term partnership approach, providing ongoing support through claims, risk engineering, and policy management. Our focus on key industry verticals allows us to tailor coverage to each client’s unique needs. Additionally, leveraging our global presence and multinational capabilities enables us to support clients’ growth ambitions beyond Canada, providing seamless cross-border coverage. This combination of industry expertise, flexible and personalized service, and global support helps us stand out as a trusted partner committed to the growth and risk management of middle market businesses.
Chris Fallon: As we look to serve and grow in the Canadian market, our value will be our responsiveness and our nimbleness to provide the solutions our customers need. We are excited to work with our insureds and broker partners to bring new solutions to market that meet their evolving needs.
Andrew Tartaglia is Manager, Mid-Market and Environmental, AXA XL, Canada. Chris Fallon is Head of Middle Market Canada, Product & Analytics, AXA XL, Americas.
