AXA targets mid-market growth in 10 sectors

AXA is targeting 10% growth in the mid-market as part of its ambitious five-year plans.

The insurer has identified 10 trade segments that it wants to write more business in to boost its market share in the sector, which is currently about 3%.

AXA commercial lines managing director Jon Walker told Insurance Times: “A lot of insurers have come into the SME space, which is our heartland, so moving into the mid-market space is a way of protecting and growing our GWP.”

The new mid-market proposition is known as AXA Vantage and is designed for commercial businesses with premiums between £10,000 and £100,000.

The insurer is producing guidance on each of its 10 target sectors to help educate brokers on the types of mid-market businesses it has appetite for. Construction, real estate and manufacturing guides have already been released, with motor fleet and retail next to launch.

AXA commercial lines and personal intermediary chief executive Amanda Blanc said the insurer would push more of its simple SME products to its online e-trading platforms so the branches could focus on growing their mid-market books.

“In the branches now the average premium is about £6,500; it really needs to be closer to £15,000 and that’s where we’ll be taking it over the next few years,” she said.

E-trading push

Earlier this year the insurer launched its commercial combined product on its online e-trading platforms and its motor fleet product is expected to be live by the end of June.

Walker said: “Put simply, we want to take the low end of SME online, we want to keep the mid to high-end SME in branch and we want to write new mid-market business in branch.

“Our challenge is to continue to build products that can be e-traded by brokers, continue to improve the service model that sits behind it and then to educate brokers about why it might be better for them to transact those products with us via an online route rather than coming to the branch infrastructure.”