Brand: AXA
Country of Origin: France 🇫🇷
AXA Name Introduced: 1985
Industry: Insurance & Financial Protection
Company: AXA SA
Headquarters: Paris, France
Chief Executive Officer: Thomas Buberl
Official Website: AXA Official Website
Featured By: ASIA Best Brands — Global Brands
About AXA
AXA is one of the world’s leading insurance groups, providing property and casualty, life, health and commercial insurance to individuals and businesses.
The Group currently serves more than 92 million customers across 52 countries and employs approximately 156,000 people worldwide.
From a Normandy Mutual to AXA
AXA’s roots trace back to Ancienne Mutuelle de Rouen, a French mutual insurer established in the early 19th century.
Under Claude Bébéar, the business expanded rapidly through acquisitions during the 1970s and 1980s. The AXA name was officially launched in 1985, chosen for its simplicity and ability to work across languages.
International expansion accelerated during the 1990s, including AXA’s first major steps into Asia in 1995 and its merger with UAP in 1996.
Insurance at the Core
AXA XL Creates New Business Unit Dedicated to Prevention. Image Source: Reinsurance News.
AXA’s business is now firmly centred on insurance.
Its Property & Casualty activities protect homes, vehicles, businesses and commercial assets, while Life & Health businesses cover areas such as protection, healthcare, savings and retirement.
Through AXA XL, the Group also provides commercial insurance and reinsurance for complex corporate risks.
This diversified model allows AXA to serve both individual customers and multinational businesses.
Refocusing on Insurance
AXA made an important strategic change in July 2025, completing the sale of AXA Investment Managers to BNP Paribas.
The transaction valued the overall deal at €5.4 billion, including Select, and marked AXA’s decision to focus more closely on its core insurance businesses. BNP Paribas now provides investment-management services to AXA through a long-term partnership.
This means AXA Investment Managers should no longer be described as a current AXA-owned asset-management business.
Using AI to Reinvent Insurance
Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly important to AXA’s operations.
By June 2026, AXA reported around 400 AI use cases that had been identified, tested and entered the scaling phase, covering areas including risk anticipation, healthcare fraud and operational efficiency.
In September 2026, AXA also expanded its Global AI Hub with Publicis Sapient. The platform is designed to provide a secure and standardised foundation for AI agents across AXA while maintaining governance, security and human oversight.
Protecting Against New Risks
Insurance is increasingly shaped by risks that were far less prominent when AXA was established.
The Group now works across areas including cybersecurity, climate-related risks, healthcare, commercial liability and complex corporate risks.
Its 2027–2029 strategic plan, Growing Forward, places particular emphasis on increasing protection, strengthening technical expertise and using AI to improve efficiency and customer service.
The strategy reflects AXA’s shift from simply compensating losses toward helping customers better understand and prevent risks.
A Strong Presence Across Asia
Axa makes changes to Japan, Greater China leadership. Image Source: Citywire.
Asia has been part of AXA’s international development since the 1990s.
Today, AXA has insurance operations or strategic interests across Asian markets including Japan, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Japan and Hong Kong are particularly significant to the Group. AXA describes itself as a leading provider of employee benefits in both Japan and Hong Kong.
Asia therefore remains an important part of AXA’s diversified international insurance network.
Global Scale and Financial Strength
AXA reported record results for 2025, with:
- €116 billion in gross written premiums and other revenues
- €8.4 billion in underlying earnings
- €3.86 in underlying earnings per share
- a 224% Solvency II ratio at year-end
Performance continued to grow in the first half of 2026. Gross written premiums and other revenues reached €66.3 billion, while underlying earnings increased to €4.5 billion. The Solvency II ratio stood at 218% as of June 30, 2026.
Growing Forward
In September 2026, AXA introduced Growing Forward, its strategic plan for 2027–2029.
The plan focuses on customer-driven organic growth, technical excellence and operational efficiency, with AI expected to become increasingly important across the Group.
AXA is targeting annual underlying earnings-per-share growth of 7% to 9% between 2026 and 2029, alongside an underlying return on equity of 15% to 17%.
Why AXA Is Featured on ASIA Best Brands
AXA demonstrates how a traditional insurer can evolve to address increasingly complex global risks.
From its origins as a small French mutual insurer to a network serving more than 92 million customers, AXA has expanded across personal protection, healthcare, commercial insurance and sophisticated risk management.
Its established businesses across Japan, Greater China and Southeast Asia, combined with growing investment in artificial intelligence and risk prevention, strengthen its relevance to the Asian market.
By combining insurance expertise, financial strength, global reach and technology, AXA remains one of the world’s most influential insurance brands featured on ASIA Best Brands.
Official Website:
AXA Official Website
Category: Insurance | Financial Services | Risk Management
Tags: AXA, Insurance, Life Insurance, Health Insurance, Commercial Insurance, AXA XL, Artificial Intelligence, Risk Management, Asia, ASIA Best Brands
Sources
1. AXA — Company Overview
Official information covering AXA’s customers, employees, markets and current insurance businesses.
About AXA
2. AXA — Company History
Official timeline covering AXA’s origins, Claude Bébéar, the 1985 AXA name and global expansion.
AXA’s Adventure
3. AXA — 2025 Annual Report
Official annual report covering AXA’s business structure and financial performance.
AXA 2025 Annual Report
4. AXA — Full-Year 2025 Results
Official figures covering €116 billion in gross revenues, earnings and capital strength.
AXA FY2025 Results
5. AXA — Half-Year 2026 Results
Latest available financial results covering premiums, earnings and Solvency II ratio.
AXA H1 2026 Results
6. AXA — Growing Forward Strategy
Official information covering AXA’s 2027–2029 strategy and financial targets.
AXA Growing Forward
7. AXA — Artificial Intelligence
Official information covering AXA’s AI use cases and responsible AI strategy.
AI at AXA
8. AXA — Sale of AXA Investment Managers
Official confirmation that AXA completed the sale of AXA Investment Managers to BNP Paribas in July 2025.
AXA Investment Managers Sale