Reinsurance can be the ‘ultimate enabler of innovation’, says Axa XL Reinsurance’s CEO Renaud Guidée

Agility, innovation and disciplined capital are reshaping client partnerships worldwide, Axa XL Reinsurance’s CEO tells SIRC Today.

Key points:
Agility and data power Axa XL Reinsurance’s edge
Innovation thrives on disciplined capital
Reinsurance emerges as a true asset class

Global volatility may be the new normal, but it’s also an opportunity to test agility, purpose and foresight. That’s according to Renaud Guidée, chief executive officer of Axa XL Reinsurance, who believes the reinsurer’s strength lies in its ability to “continuously adapt” by bridging the gap between instability and certainty for clients around the world.

For Guidée, balance lies at the heart of the company’s global strategy, and Asia is a key pillar of Axa XL Reinsurance’s diverse approach “not only because of the region itself, but because of the variety of covers sold by insurers and ceded to reinsurers such as Axa XL Reinsurance”.

That diversity, he told SIRC Today, makes Asia a “poster child” for the group’s wider portfolio management philosophy. “We focus on risk diversification at an aggregate level, leveraging the breadth of our product offering across property, casualty and specialty.” 

“If you take time to pause, you’ll already start to lag behind.”

The company’s global footprint, including teams in Singapore, Tokyo and Dubai, ensures local presence and global oversight: crucial in managing exposures effectively and maintaining profitability in a challenging market.

When it comes to pricing risk, Guidée sees volatility as both inevitable and instructive. “Our job is really to bridge the gap between a challenging environment with many adverse events and the certainty our clients need,” he explained. Axa XL Reinsurance’s response is rooted in constant evolution. “If you take time to pause and look at what you’ve achieved, you’ll already start to lag behind.” 

The solution is momentum: hiring and training the best people, refining models and “being curious and on the lookout for what could happen next, not just what has happened.”

This mindset drives Axa XL Reinsurance’s continued investment in analytics and catastrophe modeling. Guidée said the company “leverages its vast trove of data” to strengthen understanding of evolving risks and ensure client offerings remain “as relevant and efficiently priced as possible.” It’s a constant cycle of learning and adjustment; “a momentum which is never ending.”

Innovation, for Guidée, is both the foundation and future of the business. “Reinsurance is the ultimate enabler of innovation,” he stated. “By offering a backstop against tail risks, we secure the environment which becomes fertile for innovation at the level of our clients and within the broader economy.” That principle guides Axa XL’s partnerships, such as its collaboration with the Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies, which helps advance the science behind emerging risks and measures the impact of mitigation. 

“We can refine and improve our understanding of evolving trends and translate that into solutions. It’s about having an impact on the ground and helping clients address the next big thing.”

The company’s strength also lies in connecting scale with agility. “We have a unique combination of broad capabilities and a rock-solid balance sheet. Our AA– rating with S&P and A+ with AM Best’s give clients confidence, but what really sets us apart is our lean chain of command.” Clients benefit from quick decisions and direct access to our underwriters. “They know what they get, and they get it very quickly. Transparency, simplicity and efficiency: those are the values that drive a better client experience.”

The topic of capital brings Guidée to one of the biggest shifts in the market. “We are moving out of an environment where capital was seen as a commodity,” he explained. Years of quantitative easing after 2008 made funding abundant, but the world has since changed. 

“Now capital is better priced and a bit scarcer, so we should treasure it.” Axa XL’s strong balance sheet forms a foundation of resilience, but Guidée is equally focused on the new capital relationships reshaping reinsurance. “We’ve had many expressions of interest from third-party capital providers, such as pension funds, hedge funds, investment firms, ready to help us take this to the next level.” 

This external appetite reflects recognition of Axa XL Reinsurance’s underwriting discipline and “allows us to boost our capital capabilities and put that to work for clients”.

Looking ahead, Guidée predicts greater capital efficiency and securitisation of reinsurance covers over the next five years. “Reinsurance is really becoming an asset class in itself. 

“Investors are increasingly drawn to its diversification benefits, while insurers seek more innovative risk-transfer structures. Axa XL Reinsurance has all it takes to be at the forefront of this change.”

Renaud Guidée is the chief executive officer of Axa XL Reinsurance. 

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