Everest Re’s Chief Operating Officer and Head of Reinsurance, Jim Williamson, spoke with Reinsurance News to share his thoughts on Everest’s major international expansion plans, as well as the Florida property market, and the upcoming renewals.
Williamson said: “As a go-to-market for all reinsurance purchases around the world with cedents in 115 countries, we at Everest provide a global service that is local and relevant, and we’re poised for continued international growth. Everest has the appetite and capacity to grow broadly across most lines, and geographic diversification is an essential component of our strategy.”
He noted that almost half of Everest’s premiums originate internationally and that the company is actively seeking to grow its portfolio in markets around the world.
“We’re planning facultative expansion in London and Singapore as well as looking to expand regional treaty business in Europe and Asia. Overall, we’re also expanding our insurance offering internationally and this will complement our strong U.S. specialty insurance franchise and our global reinsurance platform.
“Building on our financial strength and global capacity tailored to customers’ unique needs, we’re well-positioned to continue to expand to meet global market opportunities. With our local presence, we can respond to changing market conditions nimbly and deploy capacity where we’re getting the best terms and conditions,” he explained.
Furthermore, Williamson addressed how several carriers are sidestepping the Florida property market, and also shared what Everest’s plan is.
“Everest has a long, deep history in the Florida market, and we have remained committed to underwriting home insurance in the state,” said Williamson. “We have created structures that our clients are comfortable with and that meet our requirements. We’re proud to say that we had significant capacity there for our clients that really needed it in what proved to be a tight renewal.”
He highlighted that Everest held back and reserved capacity when the market was softer in January and April, and that come June, Everest was able to deploy more and support its clients that were struggling to secure catastrophe XL coverage at placement time, while remaining highly disciplined.
In addition, Williamson also shared what Everest’s outlook is for the January 1st, 2023, reinsurance renewals.
“We at Everest feel that the 1/1 renewals look highly promising. Market conditions have steadily improved throughout 2022 in the property space and underlying casualty pricing remains strong. Looking ahead to the new year, we see this rate momentum continuing, with further property hardening expected at 1/1.
“Overall, the events of 2022 will impact what we see at 1/1 in a variety of ways. In North America, we expect the market to remain hard due to recent property cat events combined with social and economic inflation. Internationally, there are nuances depending on the class.
“In the UK, a new discount rate could impact the casualty business and of course internationally in Europe, the Russia/Ukraine conflict will affect supply chains as well as the availability and pricing of political violence covers,” said Williamson.
