The archive · Product Ideas · Product decision · 2025
AXA writes 'and domestic violence' into home insurance — three words that get victims out
France's home contracts already rehouse fire and flood victims; AXA adds 'and domestic violence' so abuse victims who call get relocated immediately.
AXA · AXA France
What it had to solve
French law requires every household to hold home insurance, and these contracts already guarantee emergency rehousing within 24 hours when fire or flood makes a home uninhabitable. AXA's insight: domestic violence victims' biggest barrier to leaving is exactly this urgent housing — and no policy covered it.
How it works
In France every household must hold home insurance, and every contract promises emergency rehousing within 24 hours if fire or flood makes a home uninhabitable. AXA's idea was three words: add 'and domestic violence' to that clause, so the same guarantee applies when the danger is inside the home. A victim who calls the emergency number is relocated and supported immediately.
The change was real, not rhetorical: the clause was written into all AXA France home insurance policies, backed by a 24/7 assistance unit that secures safe accommodation and transport, a dedicated helpline, and a team of 50 lawyers trained in domestic violence support. Publicis Conseil then built a national campaign — TV, billboards, press, social media and a documentary — around the contract change itself.
The numbers made the barrier concrete: reported victims doubled between 2016 and 2023, from over 124,000 to more than 270,000, and 77% of calls to France's 3919 helpline mention the urgent need for alternative housing. Insurance already solved that problem for fires; AXA extended it to people.
The result was recognition and reach: the Titanium, Direct and Creative Business Transformation Grands Prix at Cannes Lions 2025 — 10 Lions for the campaign, 13 for the brand — plus Creative Brand of the Year, and a stated intention to consider rolling the guarantee out beyond France.
Why it lands
- It moved the creative idea into the product: the policy text is the message, so the promise is enforceable, not just claimed.
- It used the insurer's core capability — emergency rehousing within 24 hours — to solve the exact barrier victims name: nowhere to go.
- Applying the clause to all existing contracts made help available to every current policyholder, not just future customers.
- The campaign gave the change public visibility, telling victims directly that solutions exist and they can ask for help.
What it did
The campaign won AXA the 2025 Cannes Titanium Grand Prix plus Grands Prix in Direct and Creative Business Transformation — 10 Lions for this work, 13 for the brand, which was also named Creative Brand of the Year — and AXA said it would consider extending the guarantee to other countries.
What you can take
The most credible brand claim is a change to the product itself: when the contract is the campaign, the promise is legally real. An insurer's core skill — emergency rehousing — became a social good.
Since then
AXA said it was considering rolling the guarantee out to other countries, and the work became the reference point for insurance as a social product, winning 13 Lions and Creative Brand of the Year at Cannes 2025. It also reset expectations in the category: after 'Three Words', competitors had to answer whether their own contracts would do the same.
Sources
- Final Lion winners announced for Film, Dan Wieden Titanium, Glass: The Lion for Change, SDG, Grand Prix for Good and Special Awards
- AXA becomes Most Creative Brand of the Year at the Cannes Lions 2025
- AXA Home Insurance Policies Recognise Domestic Abuse with 'Three Words'
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