AXA Life and Health Premiums Rise 7% to €44.8 Billion
Key Facts
AXA reported a 7% increase in life and health premiums to €44.8 billion in the first nine months of 2026, while property and casualty premiums rose 3% to €48.1 billion, according to activity indicators published by the group on October 29. The figures showed uneven growth between the two businesses, with life and health advancing at a faster pace. The company maintained its full-year underlying earnings outlook at about €8.6 billion, with underlying earnings per share growth at the upper end of its 6–8% range. It also targets an underlying return on equity at the upper end of its 14–16% range.
Growth in life and health came from several activities, with premiums for general-account savings and unit-linked products each rising 9%, protection premiums increasing 5% and health premiums 7%. Net inflows in life and savings activities reached €6.0 billion during the period. Meanwhile, the contractual service margin for new life and health business rose 1%. The indicators show differing rates of expansion among products within the same business. In the corresponding period of 2025, life and health premiums had increased 9% to €42.3 billion.
Within property and casualty, retail premiums grew 7%, with pricing contributing 4% and volumes 3% of that growth. Commercial premiums rose 1%, or 4% excluding AXA XL, while AXA XL Insurance premiums fell 1%. Personal lines grew 7% to €17.2 billion, compared with a 1% increase in business lines to €28.7 billion. Chief Financial Officer Alban de Mailly Nesle said overall retail growth in property and casualty and commercial activities, excluding XL, was 6%, with a balanced contribution from pricing and volumes. In the first nine months of 2025, the property and casualty business recorded higher growth of 5% to €46.2 billion.
AXA premiums in Asia, Africa and EME-LATAM posted comparable growth of 11%, with property and casualty up 8% and life and health up 12%. Against uneven growth across its businesses, the group said its diversified business model and prudent reserving supported its confidence in achieving its 2026 earnings-per-share growth target. It added that this confidence remained despite increased natural-catastrophe activity in Europe during the third quarter. AXA said the group's natural-catastrophe experience in the first nine months exceeded the pro rata annual normal level for the period. Specialist coverage also reported that natural-catastrophe losses exceeded the pro rata normal level, with elevated secondary-peril activity in France, Switzerland and Italy.
In reinsurance, AXA XL premiums fell 9% to €2.2 billion, which the company attributed to underwriting discipline amid a softer market. The solvency ratio has also declined since June, according to specialist coverage, due to adverse financial-market movements including higher euro-area inflation expectations, wider government bond yield spreads and increased interest-rate volatility. AXA had said operating return added 7 points to the solvency ratio over the nine months, while the combined impact of dividends and accumulated share buybacks was negative 6 points. The group said adverse financial-market movements outweighed these factors. The indicators put the reaffirmation of earnings targets in a context of pressure from catastrophe costs, market conditions and capital.