AIG names Nancy Bewlay global chief underwriting officer

AIG returned to profitability in 2025, and its underwriting income jumped nearly 220% in the first quarter of 2026

AIG names Nancy Bewlay global chief underwriting officer

Insurance News

By Mark Rosanes

American International Group Inc. (AIG) has announced that Nancy Bewlay will join the company as executive vice president and global chief underwriting officer, effective Sept. 8, 2026. She will report to Eric Andersen, AIG's president and chief executive, and join the company's executive leadership team.

Bewlay will be based in New York. In the role, she will oversee AIG's underwriting strategy and its global underwriting organisation.

A leadership shakeup this year

The appointment is one of several leadership changes at AIG this year. Andersen became president and CEO on June 1. He succeeded Peter Zaffino, who moved to executive chairman after leading the company since 2021.

Andersen joined AIG from Aon, where he spent nearly 30 years and most recently served as president. AIG said Aon's market value grew from US$35 billion to US$85 billion during his time in that role.

His appointment followed an earlier disruption. John Neal, previously chief executive of Lloyd's of London, withdrew from an incoming AIG president role in late 2025. That came two weeks before his scheduled Dec. 1 start date.

Underwriting results improving

AIG's underwriting business has shown recent improvement. The company reported net profit of US$3.1 billion for 2025. That reversed a US$1.4 billion net loss the year before, as general insurance underwriting results improved 22% to US$2.3 billion.

That momentum continued into 2026. First-quarter underwriting income rose nearly 220% to US$774 million, and the company's combined ratio improved to 87.3% from 95.8% a year earlier.

Bewlay's background and AIG's tech push

Bewlay joins AIG from AXA Group. She has served as group chief underwriting and pricing officer and a member of AXA's group management committee there since 2023. At AXA, she built the group underwriting office and led technical underwriting, pricing, claims, and reinsurance strategy across the company's entities globally.

Before AXA, Bewlay held senior leadership roles at Swiss Re, C.V. Starr and General Star Management Co. She began her career as a casualty underwriter and has more than 30 years of experience in the industry.

The role Bewlay is taking on comes as AIG has been investing in underwriting technology. The company has deployed Palantir's Foundry platform and large language model tools to assess risk. That includes a proprietary system giving underwriters access to more than four million industry data points.

Andersen said Bewlay's experience spans multiple underwriting market cycles and includes portfolio management and risk analytics. Bewlay said she looks forward to working with Andersen and AIG's underwriting teams to support the company's clients and partners.

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