Each company is trying to introduce new products and are lowering price when possible. Recently, there have been many takeovers and mergers in order to stay relevant and competitive. The Healthcare segment is one that has experienced many mergers. AXA faces stiff competition with these market players. The top three competitors of AXA SA. are: American International Group Inc., Allianz SE, and Prudential Financial, Inc. (Hoovers, 2011). Another possible threat faced by AXA is the changing regulations by the US government. By trying to prevent another financial meltdown, congress and state attorney generals have become very aggressive in pursuing frauds and imposing hefty fines. Most recently, a new form of competition has begun to take shape and wants a piece of the pie. Small startups that want to redefine how insurance is provided into the work place as well as individually. Currently it is not that significant but AXA would be best to start investigating the threat and see how they can implement that model into theirs. One immediate large threat that AXA is facing is low interest rates. When interests are high, investments can return a greater profit. When they are low, as we are currently seeing in the US, insurance companies are not as profitable. Low interests have forced AXA to up the premiums on their Universal Life insurance products, retroactively. New plans will automatically carry the heftier premiums. …show more content…
The health care reforms have received negative remarks from various insurance companies like United Health group etc. The UnitedHealth Group company estimates noted that if it fails to comply with the pricing for the medical costs, then its profitability will greatly suffer. They will face the declining profits which can materially affect their business and financial portfolios. If these laws further changes then the business of AXA Inc. will suffer badly as a main area of its investments is in