Michael Gosselin, chief underwriting officer, UK & Lloyd’s market, at AXA XL, is urging his team to avoid complacency amid a tumultuous market, as he looks to build a book which he describes as being in ‘great shape’.
“We need to recognise that the headwinds are only going to be stronger as the market turns, which then creates the imperative to really set ourselves up for the next chapter,” he said. “That’s what I’m doing now, thinking about how to navigate a tougher market, how to optimise our portfolio and how to grow profitably throughout the cycle.”
Securing medium-to-long-term profitable growth requires a strategy that touches on every element of a business’s operations, he said, and the success of any such vision requires getting “the hearts and minds of the business moving”. With his background and experience, Gosselin is looking to “supercharge” the insurer’s specialty function in the UK & Lloyd’s market, under the banner of better connecting with clients in order to deliver its full breadth of products and services in a very agile format.
Another core component of his strategy is looking at investment in digital. AXA XL has been a strong advocate of Blueprint II, he said, and is now actively exploring how it can optimise the premium available through various digital channels in order to enable greater resilience through market cycles and support its underwriters in focusing on truly value-adding activities. Being geared up for what the next phase of development looks like means adding new tech-enabled future-facing skill sets to the team.
“When I think around strategic growth areas, we are very focused on our mid-market proposition,” he said. “Alongside AXA UK, we've invested heavily in this important segment and, to date, we’ve recruited an additional 60 headcount across both parts of AXA, including risk management. We're already hearing from brokers that they’re seeing real benefits from this alignment, and we will continue to invest in this area.”
Gosselin highlighted how AXA’s annual ‘Future Risks’ report provides a strong template for the agenda-setting risks that will help dictate its strategy for success. This year’s iteration saw cyber and climate change remain top of the agenda as concerns for risk managers across AXA XL’s network, he said, and cyber is a key area of focus for the business. “We are one of the biggest cyber writers in the world. And we’re building out our cyber proposition in this region because we see how necessary it is to protect clients and ensure their resilience after a cyberattack.
“The way we look at cyber is deeply rooted in the data as that’s what allows us to provide a tailored, targeted and really cost-effective solution based on our clients’ needs. Again, that ties in neatly with our mid-market and our large corporate strategy by giving us a full view of the risk landscape, rather than a product-by-product view.” Having a more holistic view of risk is what enables the business to understand how clients’ risk profiles are changing, he said, and how the support they require is changing alongside that.
No conversation about risk – and the strategies required to navigate a tumultuous risk landscape – is complete without touching on climate concerns. As such, climate is a top consideration for Gosselin and his team. Having helped build up energy and transition strategies in the past, climate is an area he is very passionate about, he said, and he’s working closely with AXA XL’s head of energy transition, Vicky Roberts-Mills, to establish best-in-class practices around the transition conversation – whether that’s in energy, aviation, marine or its property portfolio.
“I think this whole area is just exciting right now because I don’t know anybody that has actually cracked it yet,” he said. “It’s always evolving, but if we can really help our clients in this area it’s a huge win, for them and for us, because this is what we do – we minimise risk and we help our clients do what they do best, which is run their businesses.”
For Gosselin, it all comes back to the role that insurance and risk management play in society – and the need for businesses to step up to the plate and play that role successfully. That means thinking holistically about risk and how to become that one-stop-shop required by clients to help move the dial on risk, to help finance the transition, to help bridge the cyber protection gap and, in doing so, move societies forward.
“We’re asking how we can play a bigger role,” he said. “You name it and we do a lot of it already. When you think about our political risk and credit and bond business, we’re already investing to help renewable energy projects actually shape the next 20 to 25 years. We do a lot in these areas already and we’re going to be doing a lot more in the future, that’s for sure.”
