Alonso Tello
Vice president, captives and alternative risk
AXA XL
Personal bio: Born in Lima, Peru, my family migrated to Canada in the 1990s and though I’ve mostly lived in Toronto, I have also spent several years in the US and UK. I’m a huge football (soccer) fan, but I have also started running since the beginning of the pandemic. Aside from getting outside, I now run as a form of meditation — even in Canadian winters.
Professional profile: I graduated from the University of Waterloo with a degree in Business and Legal Studies. After graduation I was hired as an Associate in Zurich North America’s Rotational grad program, based in Schaumburg, Illinois. This role gave me a lot of exposure to different parts of the commercial insurance business, and one of them was in the alternative risk space. After the programme, I worked in claims for a while, before getting a chance to delve into property and casualty (P&C) underwriting, in Toronto. Soon after, I joined the alternative risk team, and eventually transferred to Zurich’s London office, in a senior role. After three years in the UK, the chance to build out AXA XL Canada’s Alternative Risk Transfer (ART) practice was too tempting to pass up, so I moved back to Toronto in 2019 and have been here since.
How did you end up in the captive industry?
Though I think the tides are changing as more schools offer insurance programs, I definitely fit into the category of those who ‘fell’ into insurance. However, when it comes to my entry into captives/alternative risk, this was definitely intentional. One of my assignments during the rotational programme I took part in, was with the alternative risk team in Toronto.
I really enjoyed my time with the team and made it my sole objective to apply for a role, as soon as an opportunity arose. This took a few years, but in the meantime I was able to get hands on claims experience, and P&C underwriting under my belt, while speeding through my insurance designations and risk management certifications.
What has been your highlight in the captive industry so far?
Very cliché, but it’s 100 per cent the people we get to interact with daily — whether it be colleagues, clients, brokers, consultants or captive managers, etc. In addition, being part of a global business, and niche segment of the commercial insurance industry, I feel very fortunate to have a network that spans all continents that I speak with and bounce ideas off of frequently
What/who have been your influences in the captive industry?
One of my first mentors in the industry was a gentleman by the name of Dean Cox, who also eventually became my first boss in a captive/ alternative risk role. Dean was very well respected within the Canadian insurance community, and seen as an expert in the captive space. He’s now retired, but we still catch up at least once a month, and he continues to ‘drop’ knowledge on me and keeps me humble.
Though there are several other mentors who’ve helped me grow throughout my career, my time in the UK was another key development milestone for me in the space.
The London market is like no other, and my three years there were amazing, both personally and professionally.
What is your impression of the industry?
The captive industry is full of intelligent, fun, and driven individuals but I feel we can do a better job of raising awareness, and building a healthy pipeline of (diverse) talent. I’ve noted initiatives in the US and globally by organisations, to help this cause, but as a community, we can always keep improving how we tell our story and communicate our value proposition, in order to attract top talent now and in the future. What I love about the captive space, is that our focus is on solutions, and not just pushing products.
What are your aspirations for your career in the captive industry?
In the short term, I want to continue building out our captive practice in Canada, and help bring more of AXA Group’s many alternative risk capabilities to the Canadian market. As for the longterm, I want to keep developing my leadership skills, and cement myself as a leading source of knowledge for our business partners and clients, when thinking about how to optimise their insurance programme and retain more risk in a structured manner.
Though my little family is comfortable in Toronto, we’ll also never count out embarking on another adventure abroad, for the right opportunity (and climate).
What advice do you have for someone considering a role in the industry?
Network, network, and did I say...network? Though it can be intimidating to reach out to a stranger, I’ve yet to meet a captive professional who doesn’t perk up when asked about what we do, and how we contribute to the insurance value chain. Also, if you’re just considering insurance as a whole, I honestly feel that our industry has a place for any background — from art history, to climate science, IT and beyond.
Matt Latham, head of global programmes and captives, AXA XL “I first met Alonso in the UK before he worked for AXA XL. He had a strong reputation in the captive business, so when the opportunity arose to hire him in Canada I was very excited. Alonso has delivered everything we hoped for and within 18 months of joining has helped underwriters win a number of new captive programmes and established AXA XL as a leading market for captive fronting in Canada.”
