AXA launches a new insurance and wealth platform for HNWIs as Hong Kong wealth surges past Switzerland
AXA is launching a new Hong Kong–based platform for high‑net‑worth individuals, doubling down on the city just as it overtakes Switzerland as the world’s largest cross‑border wealth hub. On Monday, the French insurer unveiled AXA Global Private, a hub that combines life insurance products with wealth management and succession services for rich families in Asia. The platform will also bundle niche coverages often demanded by the wealthy, such as kidnap‑and‑ransom, art collection, and family‑office insurance. “After COVID when the border reopened, we saw mainland Chinese customers coming back to Hong Kong, but these were high‑net‑worth customers, rather than the mass affluent,” says Sally Wan, CEO of AXA Greater China and the newly appointed head of AXA Global Private. “They were looking for diversification and protection, especially for family business and legacy planning.” Wan says wealthy families increasingly use participating life policies for estate planning and efficient tax management, often wrapping 5% to 10% of their total assets into insurance contracts that behave “like a trust.” Policies sold in Hong Kong are typically denominated in U.S. or Hong Kong dollars and offer exposure to asset classes that are harder to access in China. “Just Hong Kong may not be enough” to serve those clients, Wan adds. Mainland Chinese policyholders account for roughly half of AXA Hong Kong’s overall portfolio by premium, according to Wan. Many of those customers come through private banks. “The difference is that for high‑net‑worth individuals, the premium size is much larger and the underwriting, financial planning, and tax‑planning needs are much more complex,” Wan says. The group can also insure art collections, provide kidnap‑and‑ransom coverage for families traveling in higher‑risk markets, and offer bespoke protection for family offices and their physical and cyber assets. “If you look at other insurance companies providing high‑net‑worth products like art insuran