Public Affairs

AXA UK contributes to public policy debates on those issues relevant to our business in the UK. We do this either individually or through other bodies such as the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

Whenever we engage in debates around public policy, we do so in full compliance with the prevailing law.

In addition, we will abide by the following general principles:

• We have never - and will not - offer any financial incentives to either elected or appointed officials
• We are transparent and truthful in all dealings with politicians and other representatives of public bodies
• We are completely open in declaring our commercial interests when dealing with Government and politicians
• We will not engage in activities that are illegal, unethical or contrary to professional practice
• We do not pay politicians to host events or to provide access to rooms or other facilities in the Houses of Parliament

AXA UK does not make political donations; neither does AXA UK receive any financial assistance from Government.

Over recent times we have contributed to the public policy debate on the following issues:

• We have continued to lobby the UK Government to bring forward a long-term strategy to tackle flooding including primary legislation
• Despite the Westminster Government's announcement not to overturn legal precedent that would allow compensation for pleural plaques in England and Wales, we continue to resist calls for the introduction of compensation in Scotland and Northern Ireland
• We have pressed for reform to the personal injury compensation system to reduce the high transactional costs prevalent in the current system and improve outcomes for those who suffer injury. We welcome the initial reform steps introduced by the Ministry of Justice which involve low value personal injury claims for motor vehicle accidents
• We want to promote a long term savings culture and have made representations in support of this objective, which has included publication of an AXA savings manifesto
• We are supportive of the pension reforms being introduced; however, consumers will need advice and guidance and this should be designed into the new system. We have conducted research into the new pension arrangements among employers and employees and have shared this with policymakers, and have commented on the growing disparity between public and private sector pensions
• On advice in general, AXA believes it is critical that an effective mechanism is created to enable the advice gap to be closed in a cost effective way
• We support the FSA's desire to improve professionalism and eliminate commission bias under the propsed industry business model
• We support the Government's continuing commitment to the National Health Service alongside an independent healthcare sector to enable people to complement NHS provision
• AXA supports the removal of fiscal measures to reduce the cost of vocational rehabilitation services for employers and employees
• AXA believes in the need for a modern, comprehensive fire service and advocates the introduction of statutory targets to help reduce the economic cost of fire in the UK

You can download PDFs with further information by clicking on the links below. Viewing a PDF document requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download the latest version for free at the Adobe website.

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• Flooding
  Filesize is 49 KB
• Pleural plaques
  Filesize is 55 KB
• Savings
  Filesize is 51 KB
• Pension reform proposals
  Filesize is 50 KB
• UK healthcare funding and provision
  Filesize is 55 KB
• Increasing employer uptake of vocational rehabilitation
  Filesize is 48KB
• Personal injury compensation
  Filesize is 65 KB
• Financial capability and the provision of advice
  Filesize is 65 KB
• Industry business model
  Filesize is 65 KB
• A modern, progressive UK fire service
  Filesize is 65KB