Ceded business drives AXA XL Re’s GWP in Q1

AXA XL Reinsurance, the reinsurance division of AXA XL, saw a 12% rise in gross written premiums to €1.4 billion in Q1 2025, partly boosted by ceding business through insurance-linked securities (ILS).

The property & casualty (P&C) reinsurer came away virtually unscathed by the Los Angeles wildfires, which cost it €100 million — far less than some of its peers. Parent company AXA said that group natural catastrophe costs were below what it had budgeted for the quarter.

However, group chief financial officer Alban de Mailly Nesle (pictured) said it had no plans to double down on reinsurance despite strong premium growth.

“We don’t want to grow, aggressively or at all, in reinsurance,” de Mailly Nesle told an investor earnings call. “If we can grow our business in order to transfer part of the risk to alternative capital and insurance-linked securities or sidecars, that is something we want to develop because that is a way to accompany our customers and not take more risks and generate fees on that business. Clearly on a net basis, reinsurance is not something we want to grow.”

AXA XL Reinsurance was not the only arm of AXA to report strengthened Q1 GWP. AXA P&C GWP rose by 7% to €21 billion in the first quarter of 2025, with strong growth across both personal and commercial lines, while life & health premiums up 8% to €15.5 billion. Overall, group GWP and other revenues were up 7% to €37 billion in Q1.

“AXA has started the year with strong performance, achieving robust revenue growth across all business lines, continuing the positive momentum from last year,” said de Mailly Nesle. “This performance reflects the disciplined execution of our organic growth strategy, with a healthy balance between volume and pricing.”

Did you get value from this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.