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AXA says retail and P&C margins are at an excellent level
AXA reported 2 million net new personal lines contracts in the first half, outpacing 1.7 million added in all of 2025.
AXA told investors during its first-half 2026 earnings call on July 31 that profitability in its retail and commercial property and casualty business, excluding AXA XL, is already at an “excellent level.” The insurer said it does not plan further margin improvement, instead aiming to preserve those margins while using favorable pricing conditions to add business, according to Coverager.
AXA said it added 2 million net new personal-lines contracts in the first half, exceeding the 1.7 million added during all of 2025. It also flagged renewed softness in the UK market, particularly motor, and said it would raise prices and accept lower growth if needed to protect profitability.
For AXA XL, pricing declined by about 1% in the first half, while underlying margins held up excluding Middle East losses, helped by better pricing than the broader market. Property pricing at AXA XL fell 7% overall, including a 10% decline in North America, with management citing limited exposure to coastal catastrophe business and a focus on large primary accounts.
AXA said its transformation initiatives under the current plan are largely complete, and that a new plan to be presented in September will focus on building on performance and resilience rather than recovering from a weak base. It also said reduced reinsurance costs improved AXA XL first-half results by roughly 30 basis points, and it plans to direct capital to businesses it views as profitable and structurally growing, including the US middle market, defense, energy-transition infrastructure, autonomous vehicles, and data centers, according to Coverager.