As technology and globalization continue to drive the world’s economy forward, 2018 has brought stark reminders of the risks global companies face doing business—and it’s not even over yet. For commercial insurers, the events shaping the past year reinforced trends that present both acute challenges and opportunities to better serve their clients. We asked AXA XL CEO Greg Hendrick to share his views on notable developments in the commercial insurance sector in 2018 and what to expect as we head into 2019.
Q: The insurance industry has seen quite an increase in M&A activity this year, with more than $39 billion in deals during the first three quarters. What does this trend mean for commercial insurance customers? How does it intersect with general economic trends?
It’s true, 2018 has been a huge year for insurance M&A activity, especially in the property and casualty area. We saw a number of big deals as companies continue to push for consolidation across the industry, including AXA’s acquisition of XL Catlin for $15.3 billion and Marsh & McLennan’s recent announcement of its intention to acquire JLT for about $5.7 billion. Insurers want to build operational scale,…
