Axa 9-month revenue up 2%, faces 400 million euro hit from Hurricane Ian

PARIS (Reuters) -Axa on Wednesday said its revenue in the first nine months of the year increased by 2% and estimated it would have to pay out about 400 million euros ($394 million) for damages caused by Hurricane Ian in the United States.

The French insurer – Europe’s second-biggest after Germany’s Allianz – said its nine-month revenue rose 2% on a comparable basis to 78.4 billion euros from 76 billion in the year-earlier period.

Property and casualty revenue was up 3% to 40.7 billion euros, while health revenue was up 14% to 13.1 billion.

Axa said that Hurricane Ian, which devastated the coastlines of Florida in September, was expected to be one of the costliest hurricanes to hit the United States in recent years.

Axa management’s preliminary estimate of claims from hurricane Ian is for about 400 million euros, gross of tax and net of reinsurance, which equates to a market share of around 0.7% based on a current estimated industry insured loss of about $60 billion.

More than 80 people died in Hurricane Ian, which is likely to be among the worst in U.S. history, President Joe Biden has said.

Axa also confirmed it was taking part in a capital increase of Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) for an amount that could reach 200 million euros.

($1 = 1.0141 euros)

(Reporting by Matthieu ProtardWriting by GV De ClercqEditing by Tassilo Hummel and Barbara Lewis)