Our individual and group life insurance policies encompass both savings and retirement products, on the one hand, and other health and personal protection products, on the other. Savings and retirement products meet the need to set aside capital to finance the future, a special project or retirement. Personal protection covers risks related to an individual's physical integrity, health or life. AXA also offers its individual clients in some countries a simple range of banking services and products that supplement the insurance offering.
For a better understanding of life insurance and savings
Life insurance and savings encompass two major areas: savings and retirement, on the one hand, and personal protection and health on the other. In savings and retirement, the idea is to invest, manage and grow the money that is entrusted to us by policyholders in accordance with their objectives: investment timeframe, performance expectations, level of risk tolerated, etc. In this segment, we distinguish between general account business and unit linked business. The amounts paid to the general account are guaranteed by the insurance company, which assumes the investment risk. The insurance company makes its profit from the difference between the return it earns on its investments and the rates credited to policyholders. Unit-linked products are mostly invested in equities. The amounts invested in these vehicles are generally not guaranteed. This means that the policyholder who invests in them assumes some risk; but since the returns can be more attractive depending on market trends, these products are particularly well suited to the objective of building up savings over the long term. The insurer pays itself in this case by charging management fees. AXA has innovated in this area by selling variable annuity products, whose guarantees (in the event of death, annuity, etc.) enable clients to invest in the markets while offering protection in the event of a downturn. The personal protection and health insurance lines, which cover life accidents, function in a similar way to property insurance lines. The insurer assesses the risk and determines the appropriate premium to charge the policyholder. This kind of coverage can be taken out by individuals for themselves or by companies for their employees.