Lights Camera Actuary with AXA UK’s Camilla Bennett

When Camilla Bennett took a three-month secondment at RBS Insurance as it prepared to become Direct Line Group, she did not plan to stay long. That temporary role stretched into 18 months and gave her a first real look at working inside an insurance company rather than advising one from the outside. Now, five years into her role as Chief Risk Officer for AXA Insurance UK, Bennett oversees risk for the company’s retail motor and home lines as well as its commercial insurance business.

From consulting to the CRO seat

Bennett spent 14 years at PwC after joining as a graduate. Risk management was not part of her original plan. “Risk management hadn’t been my career plan as I’d not worked on many risk management jobs at PwC,” she said. “But the role at AXA felt right and gave me the opportunity to use my consultancy skills inside an organisation.”

She moved into risk management when she left PwC, taking a position at AXA. That led to a promotion five years ago from Head of Insurance Risk to CRO. Bennett credits a mentor who pushed her to apply for the top job. “I had nothing to lose by going through the process,” she recalled. She got the role and became the only woman on that executive team — a figure that has since risen to about one-third.

Within the actuarial profession, Bennett chairs a cross-practice working group that shares information between the General Insurance, Life, and Sustainability Practice Boards. That work grew out of a liaison role between the General Insurance and Risk Management Boards she took on five years ago.

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The skills that carried over

Bennett said the skills she developed at PwC prepared her best for the CRO role. Her days are unpredictable. “On any given day I could be dealing with a wide range of topics, from new product developments to assessing reserves or company investments,” she said. That variety requires agile thinking and tight time management — both of which she learned from juggling multiple projects at the consulting firm.

She also pointed to the audit support work she did at PwC, which involved asking the right questions to stakeholders across the business. That skill translates directly into her current work. Now five years into the role, Bennett said having supportive people around her — her boss, mentor, and peers — is vital, along with the ability to manage and motivate a strong team.

The risk environment for UK insurers has shifted significantly. Regulatory pressure and economic volatility create new demands on CROs. Bennett’s path suggests that traditional actuarial training alone may not be enough; the softer skills of stakeholder management and internal consulting are becoming just as important for senior risk roles.

Bennett’s career included three defining moments: the extended secondment at RBS Insurance, her move into risk management at AXA, and the encouragement from her mentor to pursue the CRO role. Each step, she said, built on the last, and none of them followed a straight line from her graduate days at PwC.