AXA released its 2025
Future Risk Report, examining serious global risks like climate change,
cybersecurity, and social tensions, and how stakeholders can collaborate to
build resilience.
When natural disasters strike, the toll
on lives and livelihoods is immediate and devastating. Earthquakes alone
underscore how fragile communities can be, and it’s just one of many escalating
global risks such as climate change, health crises, and economic volatility.
For insurers, the challenge is no longer just about paying claims after the
fact, but about helping people and societies prevent loss before it happens.
This shift from reaction to prevention
sits at the heart of AXA’s global strategy, according to Thomas Buberl, AXA
Group CEO, and Hassan El‑Shabrawishi, AXA International Markets CEO. During
their recent visit to the Philippines, the two leaders from AXA shared how one
of the world’s largest insurers is rethinking its role amid intensifying risks.
AXA Group CEO Thomas
Buberl emphasized that insurance is a vital tool for social cohesion, noting
that while risks and their costs are rising, the focus should shift toward
prevention to help people mitigate impacts before losses occur.
Shifting to Risk
Prevention
“Risks all over are increasing, the
price of risk is increasing, and often, the assumption is that the cost of
insurance goes up with it, when in reality, it doesn’t have to,” Buberl
explained. “Insurance is a very important tool for social cohesion. The single
biggest shift that we need to achieve is to help people with more prevention to
mitigate the impact of risks. Because behind each claim is the tragedy of
families and a lot of pain, our goal should not only be to pay for losses but
to help prevent them from happening in the first place.
For example, after Hurricane Katrina
devastated communities and infrastructure in the U.S., many sectors—government,
private, and individuals alike—learned valuable lessons. When Hurricane Irma
hit years later along a similar trajectory, the damage and claims were
significantly lower because people were better prepared. This shows that with
the right preventive mindset, we can reduce risks and protect lives, anywhere
in the world.”
For AXA, that means investing early in
health, workplace safety, and climate‑resilient infrastructure. El‑Shabrawishi
noted that this mindset has been embedded early on for AXA. “We were pioneers
in talking about prevention as a new competitive advantage for our business,”
he said. “We’ve done concrete things on healthcare, launched networks of
clinics, and invested in workplace prevention. These are not words, these are
actions on the ground.”
The idea, Buberl added, is that
prevention must be collective. “You can prevent your home from being more
exposed to winds or floods by taking necessary precautions. But we also need to
do it in partnership with governments, with communities, because a lot of the
time, they are the ones who end up paying a large part of the cost. They, too,
have an interest in working with us to ensure that the bill—and the human
toll—goes down.”
Climate Transition
AXA’s push for prevention is
intertwined with its climate transition agenda. Years before the 2015 Paris
Agreement, the company began phasing out investments in coal and tobacco and
redirecting capital toward sustainable assets.
“We are on the one hand a big
investor,” Buberl recalled. “At the time we were investing in coal, in tobacco,
and sometimes these areas had very attractive returns. But if you looked at the
natural catastrophe claims and the health claims, it made no sense to tolerate
more claims when we could instead help reduce them. That’s why we stopped
investing in coal and tobacco to help prevent those tragedies before they
happen. Then we helped industries that want to transition go on this journey.”
This realignment, he said, was not
about being a “nice corporate citizen” but about ensuring that the business
model itself was sustainable. “It was really inherent in the business model,”
Buberl said. “We need to do everything on the investment side and on the
underwriting side to make the climate transition a reality.”
AXA International
Markets CEO Hassan El-Shabrawishi highlighted the Philippines' long-term
potential, citing its well-diversified GDP across services, industry, and
agriculture, which positions it as a resilient economy with immense growth
opportunities for the future.
Local Context
In emerging markets like the
Philippines, AXA’s strategy is being tested on two fronts -- climate resilience
and financial inclusion. With natural hazards a constant threat and insurance
penetration hovering around just two percent of GDP, the opportunity and
responsibility are both immense.
“The Philippines ticks every box when
it comes to long‑term potential,” said El‑Shabrawishi. “It’s a very
well‑diversified GDP with immense growth that we see even more potential coming
in.” The country’s mix of services, industry, and agriculture, he added, makes
it “a very resilient economy for the future.”
But resilience requires inclusive
protection. Through digital platforms like Grab, GCash, and Home Credit, AXA is
expanding access through simple, accessible coverage under its global business
unit, AXA EssentiALL. Operating in 13 emerging and 8 mature countries and
serving more than 17 million customers worldwide, AXA EssentiALL was
established to focus on underserved sectors, from informal workers to small
business owners.
At the same time, AXA’s long-standing
partnership with Metrobank, which pioneered bancassurance in the country,
continues to play a pivotal role in advancing financial inclusion. Through
Metrobank’s extensive nationwide network, AXA is able to reach more Filipinos
and provide them with comprehensive protection and financial wellness
solutions.
El‑Shabrawishi said these efforts are
driven by a deep understanding of real customer needs. “Awareness is not the
issue. For someone to take part of their disposable income to buy a product, it
has to provide value for them. That’s why we first understand their needs and
build something around it, not just push products on them.”
As the world confronts mounting
environmental and social risks, Buberl offers a reminder to policymakers and
business leaders alike. “Look at insurance as a supporter and enabler of
economic and societal development, not as a necessary evil.”
In that sense, prevention is not just a
business philosophy but more a collective responsibility, one that determines
how societies recover, rebuild, and thrive in an uncertain world.
To deepen its understanding of evolving
global threats, AXA recently released its 2025 Future Risk Report, which explores the
world’s most pressing risks—from climate change and cybersecurity to social
tensions—and how individuals, businesses, and governments can work together to
build resilience.
View the full report here to learn how
adopting a prevention-first mindset can help create safer, more sustainable
communities for all.
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