The April edition of the LSFI Newsletter features an interview with Octavie Dexant, CEO of AXA Luxembourg and AXA Wealth Europe.
She shares AXA’s key initiatives in sustainable finance, its dual role as insurer and institutional investor in supporting climate transition pathways, and how climate risk is reshaping the insurance model and its future role.
Octavie Dexant, CEO at AXA Luxembourg and AXA Wealth Europe
LSFI: Beyond climate, AXA has been active in many sustainability related topics such as inclusive finance and gender finance. Which AXA initiatives would you highlight in the area of sustainable finance, both in terms of products innovation and internal processes for decision making?
Octavie Dexant (O.D.): I guess the strongest initiative in terms of product innovation was to integrate in our home insurance contracts an emergency rehousing of 7 nights in case of domestic violence. A way to concretely act on a risk we know women are overexposed to.
While the most impactful decision in terms of organization and processes was to put ESG under the responsibility of the Chief Customer Officer in charge of product design & customer journeys. Best way to ensure ESG is systematically integrated at the core of our business!
LSFI: As both an insurer and a major institutional investor, AXA has unique leverage. How do you use that dual role to influence corporates and markets toward credible climate transition pathways?
O.D.: We are selective as an institutional investor, excluding a certain number of activities or players and focusing a big part of our investments towards climate transition.
As Life insurer, AXA Luxembourg general fund has a 50% lower carbon intensity today than in 2019 and we have multiplied our Green / Sustainable /Social assets by 15, allowing our clients to have more positive impact.
As P&C insurer, we have levers to encourage customers to change their habits and support greener repairs in case of claim.
LSFI: How is climate risk reshaping your core insurance model, and what changes have you implemented?
O.D.: Insurance core model is based on mutualization. If climate events become more frequent and severe, touching everyone at the same time, it is breaking mutualization and our capacity to cover damages.
The way to act is prevention: safest areas for building, safest material, floods levees, best practices for customers…
But this is of course also mainly about support to transition as an investor and as an insurer. Greener investments and greener insurance products. Every step counts.
LSFI: Looking ahead, what do you believe the insurance sector must do next, collectively and decisively, to remain relevant and resilient in a rapidly changing risk landscape?
O.D.: Switching from payer to partner as what customers need the most is not a good claims settlement but a good prevention to prevent risks from occurring. Our role is to accompany our clients in risk detection, adaptation and identification of concrete ways to positively impact their environment. Never forgetting that the greenest claim is the one that doesn’t happen…
