AXA Insurance UK brings together AXA UK’s Commercial and Retail business units
The new business will be led by AXA Commercial CEO Jon Walker
The move strengthens AXA UK & Ireland’s position as a growing, technically brilliant and customer-focused insurer

AXA UK & Ireland today announces the creation of a new general insurance business, AXA Insurance UK, bringing together its UK Commercial and Retail business units under a single leadership structure.

The new unified commercial and personal lines business will be led by AXA Commercial CEO Jon Walker, who assumes the role of CEO, AXA Insurance UK. Jon has overseen AXA’s Retail business on an interim basis since the end of last year.

The move strengthens AXA UK & Ireland’s position as a growing, technically brilliant and customer-focused insurer.

Bringing our UK Commercial and Retail businesses together as AXA Insurance is a significant step forward for AXA UK & Ireland. Under Jon Walker’s leadership, Retail and Commercial will continue to serve their customers with the same focus and this unified general insurance business will be simpler, stronger and more agile as well as better positioned to compete, grow and deliver for our customers and partners.

By combining our expertise across personal and commercial lines, we will enhance our technical capabilities, accelerate the use of technology and AI and scale best practice across the business. This move strengthens our competitive position and creates a more dynamic and attractive environment to work.

Tara Foley, CEO at AXA UK & Ireland

As one general insurance business, AXA Insurance UK will benefit from:

Greater scale and resilience in response to market dynamics
A more holistic view of underwriting performance and portfolio management
Stronger alignment of platforms, processes and best practice to further develop a seamless customer experience
Improved talent attraction, development and retention

Creating a unified general insurance business gives us greater scale, sharper focus and the ability to respond more effectively to changing market dynamics.

Commercial and Retail will continue to serve distinct customer needs and operate in different market contexts. But by working more closely together, we will create a more resilient and competitive organisation.

I’m proud of how our teams have continued to deliver during this period of review. Their focus and professionalism give us a strong platform as we move forward with clarity and purpose.

Jon Walker, CEO at AXA Insurance UK

A Managing Director for Retail and a Managing Director for Commercial have been appointed to ensure continued focus on these markets and customers. Both Managing Directors report to Jon Walker.

Julie Barbey will join as Managing Director - Retail in May from AXA France. Julie brings strong experience in the Retail market, having led AXA France’s largest regional Retail team.

Mike Crane has been appointed Managing Director - Commercial having led the AXA Commercial SME and Specialty teams. Mike has significant experience leading both Commercial and Retail businesses and his knowledge of these markets will be invaluable within the new AXA Insurance UK structure.

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Legal notes

About AXA UK

AXA Insurance UK plc registered in England and Wales under registered number 078950 and authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority under Financial Conduct Authority registration number 202312. Registered office is 20 Gracechurch Street, London, EC3V 0BG.

AXA UK is part of the AXA Group, a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management, with 147,000 employees serving 94 million clients in 50 countries. In 2023, IFRS revenues amounted to Euro 102.7 billion and underlying earnings to Euro 7.6 billion. AXA had Euro 844 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2023.

In the UK & Ireland, AXA operates through a number of business units including: AXA Insurance, AXA Health and AXA Ireland. AXA UK & Ireland employs around 10,000 staff.

Important legal information and cautionary statements concerning forward-looking statements

Certain statements contained herein may be forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements that are predictions of or indicate future events, trends, plans, expectations or objectives. Undue reliance should not be placed on such statements because, by their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and can be affected by other factors that could cause AXA’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward looking statements. Please refer to Part 5: “Risk Factors and Risk Management” of AXA’s Universal Registration Document 2022, for a description of certain important factors, risks and uncertainties that may affect AXA’s business and / or results of operations. AXA undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws and regulations.

AXA UK & Ireland creates new UK general insurance business – AXA Insurance UK