LOS ANGELES -- Everest Re Group, a Bermuda-based holding company with subsidiaries providing reinsurance services, on Thursday said that it had agreed to sell $475 million in common stock through Goldman, Sachs & Co.

And Endurance Speciality Holdings said it had raised $200 million through the sale of stock.

Everest said that it expected to use proceeds from the sale for working capital and general corporate purposes.

In a statement, Everest Chairman and Chief Executive Joseph Taranto said the new capital would allow its reinsurance subsidiaries to "take advantage of the opportunities we believe will arise as the insurance industry adapts to the impacts of Hurricane Katrina, including a heightened sensitivity to risk volatility."

Endurance said yesterday it had completed the sale of 6,079,000 of its ordinary shares.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. purchased the ordinary shares from Endurance and subsequently reoffered the ordinary shares to public investors at $33.15 per share.

Endurance offered the ordinary shares under its Form S-3 shelf registration statement.

Endurance expects to use the proceeds from the sale of its ordinary shares to provide additional capital to its subsidiaries and for other general corporate purposes.

Endurance and Everest are the latest Bermuda reinsurers to raise money through secondary offerings.

The companues are looking to increase their capital after paying out claims for Hurricane Katrina and in anticipation that reinsurance rates will increase as a result of the catastrophic hurricane.

Everest also said yesterday that it expected to Reinsurance company Everest Re Group on Thursday said it expects to post a "significant" third-quarter loss due to payouts from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Everest said it projects the after-tax impact from the hurricanes will reach $598 million.

On a pretax basis, Everest said damage from Katrina caused $638 million of losses. The pretax impact from Rita is $54 million, and $58 million for other events.

Earlier this week, Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. upped its estimate of retained losses from Hurricane Katrina and the New Orleans flood yesterday to between $325 million and $400 million after taxes with gross losses between $840 million and $925 million.

It now plans to offer 17.6 million shares in a bid to refinance after sustaining heavy losses from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.