Everest Re Group’s A+ rating affirmed

Bermuda-based Everest Re Group has retained it’s A+ (Superior) financial strength rating from AM Best, giving its “strongest” classification to the company’s balance sheet.

AM Best said the outlook is stable.

AM Best said the ratings also reflected Everest’s adequate operating performance, very favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management for the group’s risk profile.

It noted Everest had enjoyed solid operating earnings in recent years, supported by a well-diversified book of business and substantial market share in the reinsurance industry.

AM Best said: “The group maintains a very favourable business profile as a leading non-life reinsurer, ranking seventh in the most-recent version of AM Best’s Top 15 global non-life reinsurance groups.

It added: “Everest also provides additional market capacity through its Mt Logan Re platform and Kilimanjaro Re catastrophe bonds. Despite its historical property-catastrophe focus, Everest has grown other lines of business and continues to build out its global primary insurance segment footprint.

“AM Best believes that Everest’s very favorable business profile has helped the group generate profitable business under very competitive conditions and will also allow it to continue to capitalise on the current hard market and beyond.”

The ratings agency said its assessment of Everest’s balance sheet strength at the strongest level is attributed to the group’s robust levels of risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), on a standard and stressed basis. It added that Everest had been able to bolster capital levels in 2023, despite relatively constrained debt and equity markets, to support growth opportunities in hardening markets.

But it warned: “These positive factors are somewhat offset by reserve strengthening over the prior five-year period, which will continue to be closely monitored as the group grows.”