Everest's Core Combined Ratio Reverses to 105.8%

The Tip Desk · November 1, 2026 · 3 min read

Net income was $233 million, or $6.12 a share, as $268 million of prior-year reserve development and $322 million of catastrophe losses reversed two quarters of underwriting profit.

Everest Group, Ltd. (EG), a global property, casualty and specialty reinsurer, reported net income of $233 million, or $6.12 a share, for the third quarter of 2026, down from $559 million, or $14.22 a share, in the second quarter. Net operating income, a non-GAAP measure that excludes certain investment gains, foreign-exchange items and ADC-related ceded development, was $290 million, or $7.62 a share.

The underwriting swing was the quarter’s defining turn. Pre-tax results moved to a $223 million group loss from $281 million of income in the second quarter and $316 million of income in the first. Core businesses, which comprise Reinsurance Treaty and Global Wholesale & Specialty, posted a combined ratio of 105.8%, versus 90.0% in the second quarter. Reinsurance Treaty’s combined ratio was 108.5%; Global Wholesale & Specialty’s was 97.3%.

Two items explained most of the deterioration. Net unfavorable development in prior-year loss reserves was about $268 million, adding 8.5 points to the group combined ratio, after net favorable development of about $33 million in the first quarter. Pre-tax catastrophe losses were $322 million for the group and $302 million for Core businesses, versus $130 million for the group in the first quarter. Core attritional combined ratio, which excludes catastrophes and prior-year development, decreased to 87.0% from 87.3% in the second quarter.

Reinsurance Treaty recorded $253 million of net adverse prior-year development, including about $600 million of gross casualty reserve strengthening, on top of more than $200 million of strengthening in the second quarter. The company said the reduction in treaty gross written premium was led by decreases of 24.8% in Casualty XOL and 15.8% in Casualty Pro-Rata, while property decreased 1.8% when adjusting for reinstatement premiums. Pre-tax catastrophe losses in the treaty segment were $277 million, driven primarily by the Colombia earthquake and events in the Middle East, as well as weather-related losses globally. Attritional combined ratio in the segment was 84.9%.

Global Wholesale & Specialty remained profitable on an underwriting basis. Gross written premium was $948 million, up 3.2% on a comparable basis. Growth was led by increases of 27.5% in Financial Lines, 21.5% in Specialty and 19.7% in Casualty, partially offset by decreases of 21.4% in Facultative and 6.0% in Property. The segment posted $19 million of pre-tax underwriting income and a combined ratio of 97.3%. Attritional combined ratio was 93.7%.

Core gross written premium was $3.7 billion, down 3.2% year over year according to the release’s Core underwriting table, versus a 7.1% year-over-year decline in the second quarter. Reinsurance Treaty comparable premium fell 6.2% after a 9.1% decline in the second quarter. Global Wholesale & Specialty comparable premium rose 3.2% after a 1.0% decline.

The Legacy segment, which now encompasses the commercial retail insurance business following the announced renewal-rights transaction, earned $208 million of net premiums and posted a $51 million underwriting loss. Net adverse prior-year development not subject to the ADC was $14 million, driven by two mid-sized property losses.

Net investment income was $634 million, versus $523 million in the second quarter, which the company said was driven by higher alternative investment returns. Annualized total shareholder return was 14.2%. Book value per share was $381.04 at September 30, 2026.

The company repurchased $474 million of common shares in the quarter, after $395 million in the second quarter and $331 million in the first. President and CEO Jim Williamson said share repurchases remain a top priority as the company approaches the final stretch of the year and heads into 2027.