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Everest withdraws from more than $1 billion of casualty reinsurance
Everest said it strengthened North American casualty reinsurance reserves by just under $200 million and plans to cede about $200 million of casualty and specialty premium each quarter to a new sidecar over the next three years.
Everest said it has withdrawn from more than $1 billion of casualty business over the past several quarters, as it continues to shrink areas where pricing, structure, or expected returns do not meet its requirements. In the company’s Q2 2026 earnings call on July 30, management said treaty reinsurance premium declined about 9% on a comparable basis, including a 19% reduction in casualty, reflecting deliberate underwriting decisions rather than a lack of available business.
Everest cautioned that growing competition is encouraging some market participants to accept inadequate prices or structures, and it said it is seeing signs of irresponsible underwriting. The insurer also said it strengthened its North American casualty reinsurance reserves by just under $200 million, with adverse emergence tied to older accident years, and it applied the adjustment across most years.
On reserves, Everest said it did not increase its 2026 casualty loss picks during the quarter, and it expects its annual long-tail reserve review to be completed in the third quarter. The company added that it has not reduced its reserves or loss assumptions to reflect recent tort reforms, and it is not yet taking credit for underwriting improvements that have not appeared in reported results.
Everest reported that property catastrophe rates declined between 15% and 20% at the June and July renewals, while it limited the reduction across its own portfolio to about 10%. Looking ahead, it expects competition to continue through the January 2027 reinsurance renewals unless a major catastrophe or another external event removes capacity, and it said it is expanding in specialty markets while planning to cede about $200 million of casualty and specialty premium each quarter to its new sidecar over the next three years.