Cost of Ukraine crisis akin to ‘mid-sized natural catastrophe,’ Axa finance chief says
French insurance giant Axa has said it expects the costs it will incur the Ukraine crisis will be similar to the financial hit posed by a “mid-sized natural catastrophe”.
Speaking to reporters, Axa chief financial officer Alban de Mailly Nesle said: “We currently expect the net underwriting losses from the crisis to be akin to a mid-sized natural catastrophe event.”
In an email to Morning Wire an Axa spokesperson said “it is too early to provide precise guidance, based on our current assessment and the current scope of the conflict,” as they confirmed the insurer expects the “net underwriting losses” to be akin to a mid-sized natural catastrophe event.
The comments come after Europe’s second largest insurer pulled out of Russia vowed to stop underwriting Russian clients, in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
In February, Axa chief executive Thomas Buberl previously claimed its exposure to the Russia-Ukraine crisis is “minimal,” after claiming the firm has no “material” exposure to either Russia or Ukraine.
However, the firm still faces being impacted by “non-material” threats stemming from the conflict in Ukraine, including a rise in Kremlin backed cyberattacks.