Everest Re shares dropped more than four percent yesterday after the Bermuda-based reinsurer's first quarter earnings missed analyst estimates, sparking widespread drops on Bermuda-based reinsurers' shares.

Shares were also hurt by market fears that more interest rate increases were likely.

Everest Re stock declined 4.1 percent or $3.89 to close at $90, leaving it down more than ten percent so far this year.

Net income dropped and operating earnings fell below Wall Street expectations after the company unveiled more losses from the past year's record hurricane season.

"Everest's latest addition to catastrophe losses, combined with very significant prior estimates, once again, suggests that the broader industry might not be done adding to reserves for 2005 losses," Bill Yankus and Blake Phillips, analysts at Fox-Pitt, Kelton, wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday.

"Any reinsurer with significant catastrophe exposure will be potentially subjected to further adverse development," they warned.

Montpelier Re, IPC Holdings , RenaissanceRe, PXRE Group and XL Capital are among reinsurers that could see further hurricane losses, the analysts noted.

Hardest hot yesterday were Endurance Specialty, down 1.79 percent to $31.75, Axis, off 1.37 percent to $29.43 and American International, down one percent to $63.64.

PartnerRe Ltd., which released strong first quarter earnings on Monday night, was rewarded with a 3.5 percent rise in its share price, closing at $61.49.

Net income came in at $193.2 million, or $3.21 a share, up 73 percent from a year earlier, when the company made $111.4 million, or $1.84 a share. Operating earnings came in above analyst expectations.

PartnerRe's combined ratio in at 87.8 percent, an improvement on the 97 percent ratio from a year earlier.

PartnerRe was helped when its shares received an upgrade from Citigroup analysts from hold to buy.