AXA’s property and casualty premiums rose 3% in the first nine months of 2026, but its large commercial and specialty unit, AXA XL, continued to shrink as it pulled back in softening markets.
P&C gross written premiums and other revenues reached €48.1 billion on a comparable basis, according to AXA’s nine-month activity indicators published on October 29. Growth came from personal lines, which rose 7% to €17.2 billion, and from retail P&C and commercial business outside AXA XL, which grew 6% in total with a balanced contribution from price and volume. Group-wide premiums and other revenues rose 5% to €93 billion.
AXA XL’s insurance business shrank 1%. Prices fell 1%, property volumes rose and casualty volumes fell, which AXA described as disciplined cycle management in a softening market. AXA XL Reinsurance premiums fell 9% to €2.2 billion, which AXA also attributed to discipline in softer conditions.
That’s relevant in Canada, where AXA XL writes commercial, specialty and reinsurance business through brokers. AXA has had no Canadian personal lines operation since selling AXA Canada to Intact Financial in 2011.
The pullback mirrors conditions in the Canadian commercial market. Aon’s latest Canadian market update found ample capacity and pricing flat to down for well-run risks heading into 2027, while Morningstar DBRS expects more competition among Canadian P&C insurers.
AXA said natural catastrophe losses for the nine months were above its prorated annual budget of 4.5 points of combined ratio, citing elevated secondary peril activity, mainly in France, Switzerland and Italy.
Catastrophe data provider PERILS put insured losses from the late-August Raphaela hailstorms in France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy at €3.3 billion, following €2.2 billion from storms in the same countries in July.
Canada has had a similar pattern. Severe weather caused more than $3.7 billion in insured losses this summer, according to CatIQ estimates cited by the Insurance Bureau of Canada, led by $1.8 billion from flooding, wind and hail events across the Prairies.
AXA’s Solvency II ratio fell to 213% at the end of September from 218% at the end of June. The company said strong operating returns were more than offset by dividend accruals, share buybacks and unfavorable market movements. It still expects full-year underlying earnings of about €8.6 billion, with underlying earnings per share growth at the top end of its 6% to 8% target.
For brokers placing large commercial and specialty risks, AXA XL’s results point to continued underwriting discipline, particularly in casualty, even as other carriers cut prices. Brokers shopping those accounts may find AXA XL less flexible on price than more growth-focused markets.
In reinsurance, the 9% contraction at AXA XL Re suggests it will stay selective at the January 1 renewals, which matters for Canadian primary insurers buying catastrophe protection after a costly summer. Together with Europe’s multi-billion-euro hail losses, Canada’s run of convective storms means reinsurers and insurers are likely to scrutinize hail exposures and deductibles closely at renewal.
