Mark Cliff, the newly-appointed commercial lines director at AXA Insurance, said his first priority is to consult intermediaries over the merger with Guardian Royal Exchange.
Cliff, a former director at Royal & SunAlliance worldwide commercial practices, said AXA would be holding a series of roadshows around the country next month to gauge the concerns of intermediaries.
"The first issue is to make sure that we have learned from mergers in the past and listen to the concerns of intermediaries," he said.
Cliff added that he expected commercial rates would harden soon, and pointed to signs of premium rises in the fleet market.