Everest Strengthens Casualty Reserves Again as Catastrophe Losses Climb; Buybacks Accelerate

Everest Group added another round of casualty reserves and absorbed heavier catastrophe losses in the third quarter, pushing its core underwriting into the red even as it stepped up share buybacks.

The Bermuda-based reinsurer and insurer reported net income of $233 million, or $6.12 per diluted share, compared with $255 million, or $6.09 a share, a year earlier, according to the earnings release it filed with an 8-K on Wednesday. Net operating income was $290 million, or $7.62 a share, versus $316 million, or $7.54 a share.

The per-share figures held up because the share count shrank. Diluted weighted average shares fell to 37.6 million from 41.4 million.

Reserves and catastrophes weigh

Everest recorded net unfavorable development of about $268 million on prior-year loss reserves, adding 8.5 points to the group combined ratio. In the Reinsurance Treaty segment, that included gross casualty reserve strengthening of about $600 million, on top of more than $200 million of strengthening in the second quarter.

Pre-tax net catastrophe losses rose to $322 million from $50 million a year earlier. In Reinsurance Treaty, the company tied catastrophe losses mainly to the Colombia earthquake, events in the Middle East and weather-related losses around the world.

The result was a group pre-tax underwriting loss of $223 million. The combined ratio for core businesses was 105.8%, meaning claims and expenses exceeded premiums, compared with 88.9% a year ago. Reinsurance Treaty ran at 108.5%, while Global Wholesale & Specialty came in at 97.3%.

Underlying trends steadier

Excluding catastrophes and prior-year development, results looked steadier. The attritional combined ratio for core businesses improved to 87.0% from 87.6%, and Reinsurance Treaty's attritional combined ratio fell 110 basis points to 84.9%.

"Our Reinsurance Treaty team is navigating the market cycle with the highest level of discipline," President and CEO Jim Williamson said in the release, adding that Global Wholesale & Specialty "continues to generate momentum with strong profitable growth in specialty lines and targeted international markets."

Core gross written premiums fell 4.0% on a comparable basis to $3.7 billion. Reinsurance Treaty premiums dropped 6.2%, led by declines of 24.8% in casualty excess-of-loss and 15.8% in casualty pro-rata business. Global Wholesale & Specialty premiums rose 3.2%, with Financial Lines up 27.5%.

Investments and capital return

Net investment income rose to $634 million from $540 million, driven by higher alternative investment returns.

Everest repurchased 1,268,158 shares for $474 million during the quarter, bringing year-to-date buybacks to $1.2 billion. It paid a dividend of $2.00 per share. Williamson said share repurchases "remain a top priority" heading into 2027.

Book value per share was $381.04 at Sept. 30, up from $379.83 at the end of 2025. Excluding unrealized gains and losses on fixed maturity securities, it was $414.00. The company reported an annualized total shareholder return of 14.2%, its measure of book value growth plus dividends.

For the first nine months, net income rose to $1.445 billion, or $36.85 a share, from $1.145 billion, or $27.06 a share.

Sources

1. Everest Group Form 8-K with third-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1), filed Oct. 28, 2026 (accession 0001095073-26-000041)

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