AXA posted a combined ratio of 90.1% and underlying earnings of €4.5 billion in the first half of 2026, with its property and casualty arm holding margins while life and health delivering double-digit earnings growth.
Gross written premiums and other revenues reached €66.3 billion for the six months to June 30, up 5% on a comparable basis versus the same period last year. Property and casualty gross written premiums rose 3% to €35.1 billion. Life and health gross written premiums, meanwhile, climbed 8% to €31.2 billion.
Underlying earnings increased 4% at constant foreign exchange rates to €4.54 billion, or 9%, excluding AXA Investment Managers, whose disposal to BNP Paribas completed on July 1, 2025. P&C underlying earnings rose 6% to €3.2 billion on a stronger technical result and higher financial income. Life and health underlying earnings advanced 11% to €2 billion, with health up 34% to €489 million.
The P&C combined ratio edged up 0.1 percentage point to 90.1%. That result sits at the firmer end of the European composite peer group: Allianz posted 91% in the first quarter of 2026 and Zurich's full-year 2025 combined ratio stood at 92.6%. Losses of €0.1 billion at AXA XL Insurance in the Middle East added 0.4 points to the loss ratio. Improvements in retail and commercial lines ex-AXA XL partially offset that movement.
AXA XL Reinsurance gross written premiums fell 9% to €1.8 billion as the group pulled back volume in a softening market, with pricing down 5%. AXA XL Insurance premiums declined 1%, with pricing also down 1% across the segment. The pattern extended a trend from the first quarter of 2026, when AXA XL Reinsurance shrank 7% as the group cut back where terms were easing.
The wider reinsurance market context, however, is stark. According to reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter, the global property catastrophe rate-on-line index fell 16% by midyear 2026, with record capital of around US$785 billion driving increasingly competitive renewal conditions. AXA's decision to cut volumes where pricing has softened most sharply puts margin ahead of market share in a segment cedants and brokers are watching closely ahead of year-end renewals
Personal lines gross written premiums grew 8% to €12 billion on favourable price effects and volume growth across Europe. Commercial lines premiums rose 1% to €21.3 billion.
Net income rose 9% at constant exchange rates to €4.2 billion. Underlying earnings per share increased 8% to €2.19. Share buybacks boosted the figure by 6%, while foreign exchange headwinds from the depreciation of the US dollar, Japanese yen, and Hong Kong dollar against the euro reduced it by 3%.
Life and health net flows reached €4.7 billion in the first half of 2026, up from €3.6 billion in the same period of 2025. Protection drove €3.4 billion of that total, primarily in Hong Kong, Japan, and France. New business value declined 1% to €1.1 billion, with the NBV margin narrowing 0.3 percentage points to 4.3%.
The margin has trended down from 5.0% in 2023 and 4.6% at full-year 2025, with the group attributing the move to an unfavourable product mix in short-term business not captured in the new business contractual service margin.
The net flows figure builds on the group's full-year 2025 performance, when AXA reported net inflows of €5.4 billion driven primarily by protection and health products.
The Solvency II ratio stood at 218% as of June 30, up three percentage points compared to January 1. A strong operating return contributed 17 points, with accrued dividends and share buybacks reducing it by 12 points. Regulatory and model changes added 2 points, while financial market impacts, mainly from government spread widening, subtracted 4 points.
"These results confirm AXA's positioning as an all-weather company able to navigate changing market conditions," said Thomas Buberl, chief executive officer of AXA. Buberl said life and health earnings rose 11%, "reflecting the impact of management actions across the health and protection businesses and solid growth in earnings in our long-term savings business."
On the full-year outlook, the group said it is "confident in our ability to deliver underlying earnings per share growth in 2026 at the upper end of our target range, and to sustain organic growth with strong profitability beyond the current plan." AXA's guidance targets the upper end of the 6% to 8% range for full-year 2026 underlying earnings per share growth.
AXA will present its new strategic plan for 2027–2029 at an investor day on September 15, with CEO roundtables scheduled for September 21.
