Why data privacy matters for AXA

Every day the world creates 2.5 quintillion bytes of data, and this amount is constantly rising. This brings new opportunities for companies to provide value-added personalised products and services, but also the overarching responsibility to protect the personal data entrusted by their clients.

At AXA we decided to step up on our data privacy commitments because we feel this is a real expectation from society at large, and because our ambition is to build a long-lasting and trusting relationship with our clients.

As a consequence, we set up an internal team to work on establishing a clear, transparent, and responsible position regarding our clients' personal and sensitive data. Comprised of data experts, business and marketing executives, but also legal practitioners and corporate responsibility officers, the team leveraged help from academics and independent advisors to devise an approach which aligns business interest with those of customers.

AXA’s Data Privacy Advisory Panel

In July 2015 AXA set up an advisory board of independent experts on the issue of data privacy. The Advisory Panel meets twice a year in Paris.
The aim of this panel is to provide food for thought to the Group teams on the strategy and governance of AXA in this area, and also help the Group to position itself in the public debate on this topic.

Composition of the Data Privacy Advisory Panel

The advisory committee brings together experts on privacy data, including academics, members of think tanks or former members of regulatory bodies.

The Data Privacy Advisory Panel is composed of:

  • François EWALD, Professor at the CNAM and member of the Advisory Committee and Insurance reflection (CORA)
  • Peter HUSTINX, former European Data Protection Supervisor
  • Daniel KAPLAN, General Delegate at the Internet Foundation for New Generation
  • Claire LEVALLOIS BARTH, Coordinator of the Research Chair on "Values and Policies of personal information" at Institut Mines Telecom’s
  • Daniel LE METAYER, Research Director at INRIA
  • Viktor MAYER-SCHOENBERGER, Professor of Governance and Regulation of the Internet at Oxford Internet Institute
  • Yann PADOVA, former General Secretary of the CNIL and Commissioner for Energy Regulation
  • Frederik RICHTER, Member of the Board of Stiftung Datenschutz

Each member participates as an independent expert.

The role of the Data Privacy Advisory Panel

The exchanges within the panel aim to discuss our actions and our commitments and help us establish a relationship of trust with our customers.

Three main topics are discussed:

  • Public policies, legislation and ethics
  • Concept of privacy-by-design and technological progress
  • Information technology, marketing and operational aspects

Among the issues discussed during the sessions is the question of trust in a world of digital interaction, the use of data in the insurance industry, international exchanges of data in a context of different national regulatory frameworks, the construction of a digital single market and its impact for AXA and its customers.