Who are we ?
AXA Assistance is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the AXA Group. Our ambition is to bring you immediate solutions to make your everyday life easier.
■ AXA Assistance in a few words…
• a network established in more than 30 countries,
• products marketed in more than 70 countries,
• the ability to offer assistance in more than 200 countries,
• 6000 employees,
• more than 9 million cases processed,
• a turnover of 870.4 million € in 2008,
• operating results of 20.1 million € after tax
■ Our major customers are large international companies recognised throughout the world:
• insurance companies
• banks
• car manufacturers
• airlines
• travel agencies & tour operators
• telephone companies
• industrial and service Groups
• pharmaceutical industries
• distribution Groups
• Gas, water and electricity companies
• Public Institutions & administrations
• …
Background of AXA Assistance
■ Brief history of Assistance
Assistance was born in the late 1950s from 2 main factors: firstly the extension of paid holiday, which brought the opportunity to travel further and for longer, and the more widespread availability of the car, then of air travel, and thus of travel in general.
The two traditional assistance lines, motor and travel, came into being with the creation of GESA in the late 1950s, a company which initially specialised in legal assistance to injured drivers in Spain or Morocco; UAP Assistance created in 1978 and SFA (Société française d’assistance) created in 1977.
■ 1998 / Creation of AXA Assistance
AXA Assistance is thus created from the merger of several assistance companies, all recognised and valued for their expertise in providing assistance:
• SFA, historic assistance provider of the AXA Group and assistance provider to Allianz
• UAP Assistance, one of the most important platforms for assistance in France
• GESA, a global assistance network, of Spanish origin.
At the time of the merger with AXA-UAP 1998, UAP Assistance had just acquired GESA.
■ From ‘emergency’ to the ‘every day’
For 5 years now, AXA Assistance has turned its expertise in emergency assistance, to everyday services: Home and Health.
Creation in 2005 of Domiserve, a subsidiary of Dexia and AXA Assistance, following the Borloo plan for personal services; Domiserve is both an issuer of prefinanced CESU cheques and a national firm for personal services.
In France, a forerunner in this sector, AXA Assistance has taken stakes in companies specialising in specific areas within the sphere of personal services:
• Maison & Services (2006)
• Cours Legendre (2007)
• Family Sphere (2007)
• ADHAP Services (2008)
In 2008 - To manage the complexity of each sector, AXA Assistance was divided into 4 Business Units - Motor, Travel, Home, Health. Their mission is to develop unique solutions, common processes and to work towards the integration of service providers to guarantee our clients a consistent level of service throughout the world.
AXA Assistance is now present in over 30 countries and has 6000 employees (+64% since 2005). Its turnover is 870.4 million euros (+40% since 2005).
