FRENCH insurance giant Axa has said it expects the costs it will incur from the Ukraine crisis will be similar to the financial hit posed by a "mid-sized natural catastrophe".

Speaking to reporters, Axa chief financial officer Alban de Mailly Nesle said: "We currently expect the net underwriting losses from the crisis to be akin to a mid-sized natural catastrophe event."

In an email to City A.M., an Axa spokesperson said "it is too early to provide precise guidance, based on our current assessment and the current scope of the conflict," as they confirmed the insurer expects the "net underwriting losses" to be akin to a mid-sized natural catastrophe.

The comments come after Europe's second largest insurer pulled out of Russia and vowed to stop underwriting Russian clients.

While Axa chief exec Thomas Buberl said the insurer's exposure to the crisis was "minimal" in February, it still faces "non-material" threats such as Kremlin-backed cyberattacks.

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper