AXIS Capital Holdings Reviews

Current Employee – been working at AXIS Capital Holdings full-time

Pros – Generally, the company is a great company- great pay and benefits. If you land in the right division and location, I would advise to stay with the company long term.

Cons – Depending on which office you are located in, will depend on whether or not you think the company is great. Management can be extremely reactionary, "good old boy" network, and manipulative...or incompetent. Other departments, from my experience, can be absolutely exceptionally wonderful departments. The company brags at having the best underwriters, and they do have great underwriters. However, none of them are home grown. They typically recruit from other companies because they lack in training within the company. If you land in the right department, you will enjoy yourself and I would say this company is by FAR a long term company you would want to stay with for years to come; the exact opposite if you land with a location where they deem "you do not fit in." They will smile to your face but have no qualms of breaking each and every HR rule possible. They will constructively find a way to force you out. They just need a good lawsuit and the toxic portion could be resolved. It is a shame because it is an excellent company.

Advice to Senior Management – Why? Good old boys network, especially certain regions.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at AXIS Capital Holdings full-time for more than a year

Pros – Was able to interview for a position for the department where I was working.

Cons – They promote from within the company.

Advice to Senior Management – None.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at AXIS Capital Holdings full-time for more than a year

Pros – * Cool work culture - you can generally be yourself. Sadly, that's changing. If it turns it one of those "clasic corporates", it's not going to be as cool a place to work.
* Above-the-market compensation and benefits for sure.
* Despite some top-down stuff on some issues it still offers a flexible environment to be genuinely entrepreneurial thanks to minimal red-tape.
* Small size relative to revenue - minimal hierarchy. C-level people are accessible to most staff regardless of position. Huge plus. The moment it adopts a hierarchical approach I'm out!

Cons – * The "loose" and flexible work culture does make it difficult for those who like discipline order and process. But great for guys with ideas and want to get going without too much bureaucracy.
* Changing too much at one shot. Right now, there is just too much change happening at all levels of the organisation and that's a little troublesome. It should pass though.
* A possible strong tendency towards lock-stock-and-barrel outsourcing to stay lean. This can be tricky for the organization not too mention the obvious impact on staff.
* Some teams have above-average levels of politics. This is a problem and it isn't always noticed (or is ignored) by senior management. Some people won't complain too long and will just leave.

Advice to Senior Management – * Control the degree of immediate changes.
* Retain the low level of bureaucracy and hierarchy.
* Encourage more entrepreneurial style activity. Not just revenue generating but other operational initiatives as well.
* Outsource with prudence. Discipline and process with outsourcing and vendor management is highly desirable to due different interests.
* Take control of vendors' roles. They have a too much say at times (taking advantage of both resistance to off-shoring and those in favour of it for career advancement).

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at AXIS Capital Holdings for more than 7 years

Pros – AXIS pay very well but there is an expectation that employees will work at over 110% utilization.

Cons – Different teams within AXIS play by different rules. For example, telecommuting is not allowed across the entire organization even thought most work may be conducted remotely.

Advice to Senior Management – See what departments are not providing value

Former Employee – worked at AXIS Capital Holdings

Pros – Qualified management team with a good sense for underwriting. Lean company with no layers.

Cons – Management sometimes can be reactionary.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at AXIS Capital Holdings

Pros – good work life balance, solid benefits, interesting coworkers, relaxed work environment in comparison to competitors, accessible organization,

Cons – great company but not growing in a way for career progression since turnover is low

Advice to Senior Management – Keep it up.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend