Addesso predicts growth ahead for Everest Re

Everest Re chief executive officer Dominic Addesso has predicted that the market will be impacted by increased demand for reinsurance.

Speaking at a conference call on the Everest Re’s first quarter 2018 results Adesso said industry consolidation will play a part in that demand due to large buyers needing capacity and that quality markets that can support that.

John Doucette, chief executive officer of Everest Re’s reinsurance division, added: “The fact that there is a lot of M&A, and activity and discussion, we think does present opportunities for us particularly on the reinsurance side.”

M&A activity has spiked recently, with transactions such as the AIG acquisition of Validus and AXA buying XL Group.

This consolidation has resulted in large global insurers buying more reinsurance, driving business to Everest, attracted by its “strong balance sheet”, and the fact that Everest writes P&C lines of business all over the world, Doucette explained.

“Their capacity demands are increasing and we’re seeing some of the large global insurers buying more and buying more in the casualty and professional lines,” he said, citing the growth in the first quarter of 2018 in Everest Re’s reinsurance segment.

Overall, Everest Re group reported first quarter 2018 net income of $210.3 million compared to net income of $291.6 million in the same period a year ago. Gross written premiums for the quarter were $1.9 billion, an increase of 21 percent compared to the first quarter of 2017.

The group combined ratio was 93.3 percent for the quarter compared to 86.0 percent in the first quarter of 2017. Excluding the catastrophe losses arising from the 2017 Northern and Southern California wildfires, the attritional combined ratio was 87.1 percent compared to 84.5 percent in the same period last year.