Three firms have announced appointments spanning regional broker consolidation, carrier prevention strategy and employee benefits alternative funding - areas that reflect where insurers and brokers are directing resources as market conditions evolve.
HUB International has appointed Paul Collins (pictured, left) as Northeast area president, effective July 1, 2026, bringing HUB Northeast and HUB New England under a single leadership structure. Collins will continue leading HUB Northeast while taking on responsibility for HUB New England, spanning more than 60 offices across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Collins joined HUB in 2017 and has served as president and CEO of HUB Northeast, where the region pursued organic growth through producer hiring, client retention, cross-selling and a series of acquisitions that added industry and product specialization across the Northeast corridor. During his tenure he developed specializations in private equity, healthcare, real estate and construction, and established regional teams focused on retirement and private wealth, professional and executive liability, and complex risk. He has also applied AI tools to accelerate producer insights and support client relationships - an area of increasing focus across the broker sector as firms examine how AI-assisted capabilities can influence distribution and producer productivity.
"Paul has had a transformational impact on HUB Northeast, building a team and culture that clients and colleagues trust," said Charles Brophy, regional president of HUB U.S. East. "Paul's leadership will create greater potential for our teams to capitalize on shared growth opportunities across HUB's Northeast region."
"After more than nine years with HUB Northeast, I've seen firsthand what the right culture, talent, and relentless client focus can produce," Collins said. "Bringing HUB Northeast and HUB New England closer together creates broader industry expertise, specialized resources and HUB's full suite of boundaryless solutions. I'm genuinely excited about what these teams will build together."
Collins has spent more than 29 years in the insurance industry and holds the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter designation.
AXA XL has appointed Jeanmarie Giordano (pictured, right) as global chief underwriting officer, succeeding Libby Benet, who moves into the newly created role of chief executive officer of AXA XL Risk Advisory - a standalone unit dedicated to helping clients address climate-related risks, cyber threats, supply chain disruptions and operational resilience challenges through advisory and prevention capabilities.
The creation of AXA XL Risk Advisory reflects a broader shift among major carriers toward combining traditional risk transfer with loss-prevention and advisory services, positioning expertise earlier in the risk lifecycle rather than purely at the point of claims.
Giordano joins from Everest, where she served as North America chief underwriting officer since March 2025, previously holding the chief underwriting officer role for financial lines and specialty. Before Everest she spent nearly 15 years at AIG, including as global head of multinational for financial lines and chief underwriting officer for professional liability.
"Jeanmarie is a highly experienced leader in the global insurance space; she combines deep technical expertise with a strong profile and first-rate relationships across the market," said AXA XL CEO Scott Gunter. "Through her career she has not only successfully built books of business but also stabilized businesses throughout the market cycles."
Alliant Insurance Services has appointed Derek Ackerman as vice president within its Employee Benefits Group, based in Phoenix, Arizona. His responsibilities will include self-funded medical plans, alternative risk financing arrangements, group captives, pharmacy benefit management optimization and long-term cost management strategies.
The hire reflects intensifying employer pressure on healthcare costs. Average family premiums reached $26,993 in 2025, according to KFF's Employer Health Benefits Survey, up 26% over five years, with employers increasingly citing prescription drug costs as a major driver. Mercer's 2025 National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans put the average total cost of employer-sponsored health insurance at $17,496 per employee in 2025 and projects that figure will exceed $18,500 in 2026 - the highest projected growth rate in 15 years.
Against that backdrop, alternative funding structures are gaining ground. KFF reports that 67% of covered workers are now in self-funded plans overall, and among firms with 10 to 199 workers, 37% of covered workers are in a level-funded plan. Level funding, an offshoot of self-funded health plans, is geared toward small and midsize businesses that want to pay less than a fully insured plan might cost but are too risk-averse for traditional self-insurance.
"Derek brings a thoughtful and analytical approach to helping employers navigate the benefits environment," said Kevin Overbey, president of Alliant Employee Benefits. "His background in alternative funding strategies and data-driven decision-making will help clients identify opportunities to enhance value and improve outcomes."
Before joining Alliant, Ackerman worked as an employee benefits consultant at a national insurance and employee benefits consulting firm.
