Speed Needs Security – AXA and FIL Luge:
A Partnership Built on What Really Matters

AXA Germany and the International Luge Federation (FIL) have announced a partnership starting in fall 2026. The Insurance group is to become sponsor of the FIL Luge World Cup and World Championships, as well as presenting partner of the EBERSPÄCHER Team Relay World Cup presented by AXA.

What do luge and insurance have in common? More than you might think.

Luge athletes reach speeds of up to 150 kilometres per hour, lying on their backs, steering with millimetre precision, making decisions in hundredths of a second. Every run is a masterclass in risk management. Every piece of equipment is tested, certified and optimised. Every track is inspected before anyone slides. The sport does not leave safety to chance. It engineers it.

And that is why this partnership makes complete sense.

The International Luge Federation (FIL) and AXA Germany are proud to announce their partnership for the 2026/27 season – the 50th season of the FIL World Cup, and the beginning of a relationship built on three ideas that both organisations care about deeply.

Prevention – not just protection

The best insurance claim is the one that never needs to be filed. AXA has built its identity around prevention – the belief that the right partner helps you avoid the worst case. The FIL has built the same thinking into its sport: rigorous equipment standards, mandatory safety certifications, constant innovation in sled technology, track inspections before every training session. "How do we make sure it never gets that far?" is the question both organisations ask every day. That shared answer is the foundation of this partnership.

“The best case for our customers is to never have to file an insurance claim. This is why we invest heavily in prevention. We want to be a partner in our customers’ lives that helps them manage risks in the best possible way.  And our partnership with FIL will bring this mindset to life.” – Stephanie Peterson, Chief Customer Officer, AXA Germany

Risk management as a way of life

Every person who has ever pushed out of a start house understands risk. But understanding risk is not the same as avoiding it – it means knowing it, controlling it and making informed decisions about it. That is what luge athletes do on every run. It is what AXA does for its customers every day. Speed needs security. And security is not the absence of risk – it is the confidence to face it well-prepared.

"AXA and the FIL share a fundamental conviction: that the best way to deal with risk is to understand it, prepare for it and – wherever possible – prevent it. In luge, we do this every day on the track. AXA does it every day for its customers. That is not a coincidence. That is a partnership." FIL President Einars Fogelis

A sport that gets gender equity right

AXA has made gender equity a cornerstone of its sports sponsorship strategy – from women's football to the German Golf League (DGL). These partnerships underline AXA’s commitment to close the Gender Health Gap, raise awareness and address the systemic disadvantages women experience in the healthcare system. Luge earns its place in that story. At the Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina 2026, women's doubles made its Olympic debut - sixty-two years after the men's event was first added to the programme. For the Alpes 2030 Games, the FIL will send exactly as many men as women. Not approximately. Exactly. It is written into the regulations.

And the numbers?

Luge is sometimes called a niche sport. During Milano-Cortina 2026, it was the most-watched competition broadcast on ZDF in Germany – 6.5 million viewers, a 30 percent market share, more viewers than the Bayern Munich DFB-Pokal match that followed it. Luge reaches people. A lot of them.

This partnership builds on AXA Germany's big steps into winter sport – including its support for the winter weeks in Oberhof last season. Now, for the first time, AXA enters international luge at the highest level.

The 50th World Cup season starts in Winterberg on 23 November. The fastest sport on ice has a new partner. And it is prepared for whatever comes next.

Stephanie Peterson, Chief Customer Officer, AXA Germany