Foresight

Exploring possible futures to anticipate tomorrow’s challenges

The AXA Foresight Team contributes to the Group’s forward strategic thinking by providing future-looking perspectives and related business insurance challenges.

Powering AXA’s vision for the future(s)

Insurance is built on future potential events. Its success is based on understanding and anticipating them through the best possible vision of tomorrow. This is the role of the Group Foresight, which helps provide a lens into possible futures by identifying main trends likely to emerge in the years ahead and allowing to better navigate uncertain times. Examining long-term transformations and their related challenges allows to explore the ways in which our societies may be affected in the future and what role insurers might play in a fast-changing world.

The AXA Foresight focuses on three main pillars, with Tech issues transversally covered. Its analysis is supported by the expertise brought by the AXA Research Fund which supports initiatives in the same areas.

Olivier Desbiey

Head of Foresight

The Foresight Team contributes to power AXA’s vision for the future to make sure the Group is equipped to anticipate, innovate, and continue to cater to our customers of tomorrow.

Combining expertise and design-thinking

At AXA, we believe insurance is a force for progress. Scientific achievements, economic development, medical advances and technological empowerment all contributing to build a world of prosperity and wellbeing.

However, the world continues to face evolving challenges, often increasingly interconnected. This requires, more than ever before, the understanding of trends that are shaping the future so as to be better prepared to respond and to adapt to the opportunities and challenges ahead. Foresight’s role is precisely that – to bring together complementary disciplines that help best navigate times of uncertainty and provide a variety of pathways towards progress. The Foresight team relies on in-house expertise and a broad external network of partners powering out-of-the box methodologies, design-thinking and innovative studies.

Publications and reports

Every year, the AXA Group's Foresight publishes its annual exploration report, gathering innovative perspectives and shedding light on the societal transformations relevant to our business. The report contributes to AXA’s thought leadership efforts while catalyzing debates with key audiences, such as think tanks, academics, business leaders and foresight experts.

Latest explorations

100 reasons to love the future (2024)

Discover 100 reasons to love the future curated by futurists, experts, business leaders, scientists, writers, artists, NGOs and organisations. By working together, anticipating risks and sharing knowledge, we can better protect people, and look to the future with confidence.

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Risk: a mosaic of perceptions (2023)

The report examines how risk-taking attitudes and feelings of vulnerability are related to socio-demographic characteristics; how the cultural environment affects perceptions of major risks by conducting a country-by-country analysis; and finally considers foresight scenarios of what might give people trust in their protection in the future.

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Progress Land (2022)

Through a fictional journey in a territory called Progress Land, made up of four districts ranging from business to the environment, to society and well-being, this publication discusses the many visions of progress and the related major societal issues in connection with AXA’s purpose.

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2040 Exploring Society’s Future Challenges (2021)

Based on a scenario of what the world might look like in 2040, this report highlights long-term trends shaping the society of tomorrow. It raises questions on climate change, growing need for social protection and data-driven health focusing on their possible outcomes from an insurance perspective.

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Previous publications

100+ reasons to love the future

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