Bermuda-based global reinsurance company, Everest Group, Ltd., generated net income of $653 million in the first quarter of 2026, an increase of more than 210% year-on-year, as the Group combined ratio strengthened by 11.6 pts to 91.2% on the back of lower pre-tax net catastrophe losses.
Group-wide, Everest had a strong first quarter of the year, with net operating income hitting $648 million, compared with $276 million in Q1’25.
Gross written premium (GWP) decreased 18% year-on-year to $3.6 billion, while net written premium (NWP) fell 15% to $3.2 billion in Q1’26.
Pre-tax underwriting income across the Group totalled $316 million, while pre-tax catastrophe losses, net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums, decreased significantly to $130 million. The firm also benefited from net favorable development of approximately $33 million in prior year loss reserves in Q1’26.
On the asset side off the balance sheet, net investment income rose to $567 million compared with $491 million a year earlier.
Everest’s Reinsurance Treaty business had a notably strong three months, generating pre-tax underwriting income of $315 million as the combined ratio strengthened by 17.5 pts to 87.2%. Pre-tax cat losses were $90 million, net of estimated recoveries and reinstatement premiums, driven primarily by losses associated with the Iran War and a number of mid-sized events around the world.
Net favourable prior year development in the Reinsurance Treaty segment was $33 million, which Everest attributes to “well-seasoned property reserves.”
Reinsurance Treaty GWP decreased 8.9% to $2.7 billion in Q1’26, with growth of 9.4% in Property Catastrophe XOL and 1% growth in Property Pro-Rata, offset by decreases of 25% in Property Non-Catastrophe XOL, 23.9% in Casualty Pro-Rata, and 13.3% in Casualty XOL, when adjusting for reinstatement premiums. NWP fell 4.9% year-on-year to $2.4 billion.
Turning to the Global Wholesale & Specialty segment, pre-tax underwriting income totalled $23 million with a combined ratio of 96.8%, a slight deterioration on the prior year’s 95.7%. Pre-tax catastrophe losses, net of estimated recoveries and reinstatement premiums, were $30 million, an increase on the prior year’s $23 million.
GWP in the Global Wholesale & Specialty unit increased 2.9% year-on-year to $793 million, driven by increases of 32.9% in Other Specialty and 23.8% in Accident and Health, partially offset by decreases of 26.7% in Workers’ Compensation, 9.3% in Property / Short Tail, and 6.1% in Specialty Casualty. NWP increased by 5.6% to $692 million, compared with $655 million a year earlier.
In Everest’s Legacy segment, which now encompasses the firm’s commercial retail insurance business following the announcement of the commercial retail insurance renewal rights transaction, GWP fell to $135 million from $686 million as a result of “a limited number of renewed and new policies written on the Company’s paper related to the commercial retail insurance business and by the purchaser of the sports and leisure business, for a finite period post-closing.”
Net premiums of $89 million were largely driven by the commercial retail insurance business, which Everest expect to diminish to a small amount by the end of 2026. The segment’s underwriting losses increased to $22 million in Q1’26 from a loss of $14 million a year earlier, while total incurred losses and LAE fell to $316 million from $407 million.
Jim Williamson, Everest President and CEO, commented: “Everest delivered a strong start to the year as the strategy we implemented to improve our return profile and capital efficiency is becoming evident in our results. Solid contributions from underwriting and investment income drove an annualized operating ROE of 16.7% and supported accelerated share repurchases.
“Our new structure provides greater clarity on the earnings power across Everest. The Reinsurance Treaty team continues to operate with a relentless focus on bottom-line results, with strong and disciplined execution of the January and April first renewals. Our Global Wholesale & Specialty team continues to tactically improve the quality of the portfolio and expand in markets where we have durable competitive advantages, which we believe positions the business for increased profitability. As we look forward through 2026, we are focused on executing against our strategy, centered around underwriting discipline and accelerating capital return.”
