Everest Evolution: big opportunities ahead in the E&S market

The E&S market is well placed to capitalise on greater digitalisation and more reliable tools, said Stephen Buonpane, p resident of Everest Evolution, in an interview with The Insurer TV.

“You think about where this industry is headed in general, you're going to see more digitisation and more[ reli ance] on structured data and artificial intelligence to better inform us in terms of risk selection, pricing[and] in terms of structure,” said Buonpane.

“The E&S market and [Everest] Evolution is well positioned to take advantage of these trends in the marketplace and provide more innovative and creative solutions utilising the se technologies and tools that are out there.”

While Everest Insurance has been in the E&S market for more than two decades, Everest Evolution was unveiled last month a s the firm’s new US wholesale exclusive brand in response to the market’s“clear demand” for access to these offerings.

The market has grown rapidly with a report from AM Best in September revealing premiums written exceeded $100bn for the first time in 2023.

During the interview Buonpane said the significant growth and the firm’s desire to “reinforce” its commitment to the E&S market prompted the launch of Everest Evolution.

He also discussed some of the wider trends in the E&S market.

“The trajectory is trending up at the moment and we see no reason why that's going to slow down.

“Obviously, there are certain headwinds in the casualty market right now, and some challenges with elevated loss trends, but also even with property, where there's been some rate moderation over the course of this past year, we're still seeing average annual losses outpace long-term trends in that space as well.”

Buonpane went on to discuss how the firm is focusing on disciplined underwriting with regards to elevated loss trends, particularly in casualty lines.

He added that Everest Evolution would continue to focus on its core products in wholesale property and casualty, s uch as construction and energy but that the team would also “keep our nose to the grindstone around what the market demand is”.

Watch the full interview to hear more about: