A large reinsurer that once wanted to be a broad commercial insurer is quietly narrowing its reach, handing its retail books in Latin America to AIG as part of a longer retreat from the everyday commercial customer. Colombia is already done, and Chile waits on regulators before the chapter closes sometime in the first half of 2027. For the brokers and businesses who lived with these policies, the change is less a rupture than a slow reassignment of who answers the phone and who stands behind the claim.
Everest Exits Latin American Retail Commercial Insurance with Chile Sale to AIG
Everest has finished closing the door on retail commercial insurance in Latin America.
Mark
Why does this small-sounding sale matter?
Mimi
Because it completes a year-long retreat. Everest has now sold or agreed to sell its retail commercial business across the US, UK, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America, all to AIG.
Mark
What set that off?
Mimi
Last October it bought a $5.4 billion adverse development cover for North American reserves, after a 138.1% combined ratio in the third quarter of 2025 tied to reserve strengthening.
Luke
Careful with causation. The reporting places the restructuring and the reserve problems side by side, but it doesn't say the reserve charge caused the exit.
Mark
Fair. What's actually settled?
Mimi
Colombia has closed. Chile has an agreement but needs regulatory approval, with closing expected in the first half of 2027.
Luke
And that timing is an expectation, not a guarantee. The source doesn't give a price for either deal, either.
Mark
What should brokers do?
Mimi
Ask how renewals will be handled, and whether terms, limits and claims contacts will change.
Luke
Worth noting those are suggested checks. Nothing here says terms will change, only that nobody has confirmed they won't.
Mark
And Everest itself?
Mimi
It narrows to reinsurance and wholesale and specialty, under Jason Keen on the wholesale side.
O Pulso
- Everest's Colombian insurance sale to AIG has already closed, leaving brokers to absorb a change that is no longer hypothetical.
- The Chilean unit is still waiting on regulatory approval, so its policyholders and brokers live in a period of uncertainty until the first half of 2027.
- Brokers must navigate renewals, terms, limits and claims contacts while policies migrate, with no guarantee that nothing slips through the handover.
- The company is steering toward reinsurance and wholesale specialty lines after a rough 2025 that pushed its insurance segment to a 138.1% combined ratio, and Latin America's retail chapter is nearly closed.
A large reinsurer that once wanted to be a broad commercial insurer is quietly narrowing its reach, handing its retail books in Latin America to AIG as part of a longer retreat from the everyday commercial customer. Colombia is already done, and Chile waits on regulators before the chapter closes sometime in the first half of 2027. For the brokers and businesses who lived with these policies, the change is less a rupture than a slow reassignment of who answers the phone and who stands behind the claim.
Everest Group is nearly finished leaving retail commercial insurance in Latin America. The sale of its Colombian insurer to AIG is complete, and the sale of its Chilean insurer to the same buyer is agreed but still awaiting regulators, with closing expected in the first half of 2027. Once Chile closes, Everest says the region's divestitures are done.
Chief executive Jim Williamson describes the deals as steps toward a leaner company, focused where Everest sees the greatest long-term value. The Latin American sales are the latest pieces of an overhaul that began last October, when Everest agreed to hand AIG the renewal rights to its retail commercial book in the US, UK, Europe and Asia Pacific, roughly $2 billion of gross written premium. Everest kept liabilities on existing policies and still handles their claims.
That same month, Everest bought cover protecting $5.4 billion of North American reserves for accident years 2024 and earlier, following a third quarter in which its insurance segment's combined ratio reached 138.1%, driven by reserve strengthening. What remains is a company built around reinsurance and wholesale and specialty insurance.
For brokers, the immediate work is practical. Policies in Chile and Colombia will move to AIG, and they should check how renewals, terms, limits and claims contacts will change. Multinational clients with Everest local policies may find placements simpler under one carrier. The thing to watch is what regulators and brokers see during the Chilean handover before it closes.
Everest Group has finished closing the door on retail commercial insurance in Latin America. The company has agreed to sell its Chilean insurer, Everest Compañía de Seguros Generales Chile, to AIG, and the sale of its Colombian counterpart, Everest Compañía de Seguros Generales Colombia, to the same buyer has now been completed.
The Chile transaction is not done yet. It is expected to close in the first half of 2027, and it depends on regulatory approvals. Everest described it as the last planned divestiture of its Latin American insurance operations, so once it closes, the exit is complete.
Jim Williamson, Everest's president and chief executive, framed the two deals as steps toward a more focused company. He said the milestones mark progress in building a stronger organization centered on the businesses where Everest sees the greatest opportunity to deliver long-term value.
The Latin American sales are part of a larger overhaul that began last October. At that time Everest agreed to sell AIG the renewal rights to its retail commercial insurance business in the US, UK, Europe and Asia Pacific, a book representing about $2 billion of gross written premium. Everest kept the liabilities on its existing policies and continues to handle claims on them.
The same month, Everest bought an adverse development cover protecting $5.4 billion of North American insurance reserves for accident years 2024 and earlier. The purchase followed a third quarter of 2025 in which its insurance segment posted a 138.1% combined ratio, a result driven by reserve strengthening.
What remains is a company concentrated on reinsurance and on wholesale and specialty insurance. Jason Keen leads the global wholesale and specialty business, which covers E&S, underwriting programs, credit and political risk, surety, and accident and health.
For AIG, the Chilean and Colombian deals add to the renewal rights portfolio it took on from Everest elsewhere. AIG said last year that it expected to write the Everest business within its existing balance sheet, with no extra capital, and that Everest would stay on as a key reinsurance partner.
The practical effects fall on brokers. In Chile and Colombia, policies will move to AIG, which has an established presence in Latin America. Brokers are advised to check how renewals will be handled during the transition and whether terms, limits and claims contacts will change. For multinational programs, consolidation may make placements simpler: clients holding Everest local policies in the region can move to AIG, which can also issue local policies in many other markets. Brokers who placed mid-market and retail commercial accounts with Everest will now deal mainly with AIG for that business, while Everest stays active in reinsurance and through wholesale and specialty channels.
The thing to watch is the Chile closing in the first half of 2027, and what regulators and brokers see in the handover before then.
Citações Notáveis
These milestones mark progress in building a stronger, more focused organization centered on the businesses with the greatest opportunity for long-term value.— Jim Williamson, Everest president and chief executive (paraphrased)
Quer a matéria completa?
Leia o original em Insurance Business ↗
Politics & Governance