Axa XL Re sets sights on growth in North America

Axa XL Reinsurance is looking to increase the amount of North American business it writes both through growing its existing book as well as adding new lines of business, with CEO Renaud Guidée having recently moved to New York to spearhead the expansion.

Talking to The Insurer, Guidée said Axa XL Re has “high ambitions” to grow its North American portfolio.

“My strategic objective is definitely to deepen what we do [in North America] in terms of volume of business and broaden it in terms of product line and segments in which we are active,” he said.

“The US is the center of gravity of our industry, of our business, of our company. There are lots of clients and brokers incorporated in the US,” Guidée noted.

“The US is also a short flight away from Bermuda, which is a very important marketplace for us, and also the roots of our company,” he said, referring to XL Group’s origins on the North Atlantic island.

Guidée, who joined Axa XL in 2023 having previously served as Axa’s group chief risk officer since 2019, was tight-lipped on precisely where the reinsurer was looking to grow in North America.

However, given the firm’s efforts to reduce its property catastrophe portfolio in recent years, it can be assumed that is not an area where it is looking to take on more business.

“We've been spending a lot of time and energy reshaping our portfolio, which did involve right-sizing some lines, and we are extremely happy with the shape we currently have in our portfolio,” said Guidée.

“That reshaping effort is behind us. It's over and we’ve turned the corner. We are now in a new chapter where, given the business mix we have, which we are happy with, we are looking to grow selectively where it makes sense and to support our clients where they need it,” the executive added.

The positive results of those efforts were clear to see in Axa XL Re’s results for the first half of 2024, with its gross premiums written increasing to €1.9bn from the prior-year period’s €1.7bn.

That growth was driven by favorable price impacts in property and casualty, alongside increases in premium volume growth within its specialty business.

Axa XL Re’s property and casualty revenues increased to €1.2bn, up from H1 2023’s €1.1bn. The P&C combined ratio improved 2.1 points year on year to 78.7 percent.

As Guidée noted, there is plenty of opportunity for Axa XL Re to grow further, with lots of clients “banging on our door, [wanting] to get access to the rock-solid Axa balance sheet”.

“Especially in these times, our AA- credit rating [from S&P] really stands out, and this is a prime competitive advantage for us and clients tell us that they really value it,” he said.

Guidée said Axa XL Re is open to both bringing on board new clients, as well as deepening and broadening its relationships with existing clients.

“Both our existing and potential new clients tell us they want to award us business, which is good. We assess that, we respond to that, and we are really willing to make our rock solid balance sheet available, and to put it to work for them.”