Part II Item 5—Market for Registrant’s Common Equity and Related Stockholder Matters Market Information.
The common stock of the Company is currently traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol ‘‘AES.
’’ The following tables set forth the high and low sale prices for the common stock as reported by the NYSE for the periods indicated.
## Table 0 ##
Holders.
As of March 3, 2003, there were 9,663 record holders of the Company’s Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share.
Dividends.
Under the terms of the Company’s senior secured credit facilities entered into with a commercial bank syndicate, the Company is not allowed to pay cash dividends.
In addition, the Company is precluded from paying cash dividends on its Common Stock under the terms of a guaranty to the utility customer in connection with the AES Thames project in the event certain net worth and liquidity tests of the Company are not met.
The ability of the Company’s project subsidiaries to declare and pay cash dividends to the Company is subject to certain limitations in the project loans, governmental provisions and other agreements entered into by such project subsidiaries.
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans.
See the information contained under the caption ‘‘Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans’’ of the Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders of the Registrant to be held on May 1, 2003, which information is incorporated herein by reference.
Key actuarial assumptions contain no explicit provisions for reserve uncertainty nor does the Company supplement the actuarially determined reserves for uncertainty.
Carried reserves at each reporting date are the Company’s best estimate of ultimate unpaid losses and LAE at that date.
The Company completes detailed reserve studies for each exposure group annually for both reinsurance and insurance operations.
The completed annual reserve studies are “rolled-forward” for each accounting period until the subsequent reserve study is completed.
Analyzing the roll-forward process involves comparing actual reported losses to expected losses based on the most recent reserve study.
The Company analyzes significant variances between actual and expected losses and post adjustments to its reserves as warranted.
The Company continues to receive claims under expired insurance and reinsurance contracts asserting injuries and/or damages relating to or resulting from environmental pollution and hazardous substances, including asbestos.
Environmental claims typically assert liability for (a) the mitigation or remediation of environmental contamination or (b) bodily injury or property damage caused by the release of hazardous substances into the land, air or water.
Asbestos claims typically assert liability for bodily injury from exposure to asbestos or for property damage resulting from asbestos or products containing asbestos.
The Company’s reserves include an estimate of the Company’s ultimate liability for A&E claims.
The Company’s A&E liabilities emanate from Mt.
McKinley’s direct insurance business and Everest Re’s assumed reinsurance business.
All of the contracts of insurance and reinsurance, under which the Company has received claims during the past three years, expired more than 20 years ago.
There are significant uncertainties surrounding the Company’s reserves for its A&E losses.
A&E exposures represent a separate exposure group for monitoring and evaluating reserve adequacy.
The following table summarizes incurred losses with respect to A&E reserves on both a gross and net of reinsurance basis for the periods indicated:
## Table 1 ##
On July 13, 2015, the Company sold Mt.
McKinley, a Delaware domiciled insurance company and whollyowned subsidiary of the Company to Clearwater Insurance Company, a Delaware domiciled insurance company.
Concurrently with the closing, the Company entered into a retrocession treaty with an affiliate of Clearwater Insurance Company.
Per the retrocession treaty, the Company retroceded 100% of the liabilities associated with certain Mt.
McKinley policies, which related entirely to A&E business and had been reinsured by Bermuda Re.
As consideration for entering into the retrocession treaty, Everest Re Bermuda transferred cash of $140,279 thousand, an amount equal to the net loss reserves as of the closing date.
The maximum liability retroceded under the retrocession treaty will be $440,279 thousand, equal to the retrocession payment plus $300,000 thousand.
The Company will retain liability for any amounts exceeding the maximum liability retroceded under the retrocession treaty.
The following table summarizes information about share options outstanding for the period indicated:
## Table 2 ##
The following table summarizes the status of the Company’s non-vested shares and changes for the periods indicated:
## Table 3 ##
As of December 31, 2017, there was $56,981 thousand of total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested share-based compensation expense.
That cost is expected to be recognized over a weightedaverage period of 3.1 years.
The total fair value of shares vested during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, was $23,134 thousand, $19,037 thousand and $17,464 thousand, respectively.
The tax benefit realized from the shares vested for the year ended December 31, 2017 was $10,130 thousand.
In addition to the 2010 Employee Plan, the 2009 Director Plan and the 2003 Director Plan, Group issued 404 common shares in 2017, 547 common shares in 2016 and 426 common shares in 2015 to the Company’s non-employee directors as compensation for their service as directors.
These issuances had aggregate values of approximately $94 thousand, $103 thousand and $75 thousand, respectively.
Since its 1995 initial public offering, the Company has issued to certain key employees of the Company 2,141,557 restricted common shares, of which 280,452 restricted shares have been cancelled.
The Company has issued to non-employee directors of the Company 145,817 restricted common shares, of which no restricted shares have been cancelled.
The Company acquired 60,453, 70,010 and 82,277 common shares at a cost of $14,240 thousand, $12,111 thousand and $14,666 thousand in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively, from employees and non-employee directors who chose to pay required withholding taxes and/or the exercise cost on option exercises or restricted share vestings by withholding shares.
The Company’s loss reserving methodologies continuously monitor the emergence of loss and loss development trends, seeking, on a timely basis, to both adjust reserves for the impact of trend shifts and to factor the impact of such shifts into the Company’s underwriting and pricing on a prospective basis.
Reserves for Asbestos and Environmental Losses and LAE.
At December 31, 2017, the Company’s gross reserves for A&E claims represented 3.8% of its total reserves.
The Company’s A&E liabilities stem from Mt.
McKinley’s direct insurance business and Everest Re’s assumed reinsurance business.
Liabilities related to Mt.
McKinley’s direct business, which had been ceded to Bermuda Re previously, were retroceded to an affiliate of Clearwater Insurance Company in July 2015, concurrent with the sale of Mt.
McKinley to Clearwater Insurance Company.
There are significant uncertainties in estimating the amount of the Company’s potential losses from A&E claims and ultimate values cannot be estimated using traditional reserving techniques.
See ITEM 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Asbestos and Environmental Exposures” and Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” - Note 3 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
The following table summarizes the composition of the Company’s total reserves for A&E losses, gross and net of reinsurance, for the periods indicated:
## Table 4 ##
On July 13, 2015, the Company sold Mt.
McKinley to Clearwater Insurance Company.
Concurrently with the closing, the Company entered into a retrocession treaty with an affiliate of Clearwater.
Per the retrocession treaty, the Company retroceded 100% of the liabilities associated with certain Mt.
McKinley policies, which had been reinsured by Bermuda Re.
As consideration for entering into the retrocession treaty, Bermuda Re transferred cash of $140.3 million, an amount equal to the net loss reserves as of the closing date.
Of the $140.3 million of net loss reserves retroceded, $100.5 million were related to A&E business.
The maximum liability retroceded under the retrocession treaty will be $440.3 million, equal to the retrocession payment plus $300.0 million.
The Company will retain liability for any amounts exceeding the maximum liability retroceded under the retrocession treaty.
In 2017, during its normal exposure analysis, the Company increased its net A&E reserves by $37.1 million, all of which related to its assumed reinsurance business.
Additional losses, including those relating to latent injuries and other exposures, which are as yet unrecognized, the type or magnitude of which cannot be foreseen by either the Company or the industry, may emerge in the future.
Such future emergence could have material adverse effects on the Company’s future financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Future Policy Benefit Reserves.
The Company wrote a limited amount of life and annuity reinsurance in its Bermuda segment.
Future policy benefit liabilities for annuities are reported at the accumulated fund balance of these contracts.
Reserves for those liabilities include mortality provisions with respect to life and annuity claims, both reported and unreported.
Actual experience in a particular period may be worse than assumed experience and, consequently, may adversely affect the Company’s operating results for that period.
See ITEM 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” - Note 1F of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

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2002	High	Low	2001	High	Low
First Quarter	$17.84	$4.11	First Quarter	$60.15	$41.30
Second Quarter	9.17	3.55	Second Quarter	52.25	39.95
Third Quarter	4.61	1.56	Third Quarter	44.50	12.00
Fourth Quarter	3.57	0.95	Fourth Quarter	17.80	11.60

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At December 31,
(Dollars in thousands)	2017	2016	2015
Gross basis:
Beginning of period reserves	$441,111	$433,117	$476,205
Incurred losses	90,009	73,336	40,000
Paid losses	-82,126	-65,342	-83,088
End of period reserves	$448,994	$441,111	$433,117
Net basis:
Beginning of period reserves	$319,072	$319,620	$458,211
Incurred losses	37,137	53,909	38,440
Paid losses	-38,128	-54,457	-177,031
End of period reserves	$318,081	$319,072	$319,620

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At December 31, 2017
Options Outstanding	Options Exercisable
Weighted-
Average	Weighted-	Weighted-
Number	Remaining	Average	Number	Average
Range of	Outstanding	Contractual	Exercise	Exercisable	Exercise
Exercise Prices	at 12/31/17	Life	Price	at 12/31/17	Price
$71.7150 - $78.1700	79,760	1.1	$71.72	79,760	$71.72
$78.1800 - $85.6300	61,900	2.1	84.63	61,900	84.63
$85.6400 - $87.4700	88,590	3.1	86.62	88,590	86.62
$87.4800 - $89.4100	110,060	4.1	88.32	110,060	88.32
$89.4200 - $110.1300	20,054	1.1	97.41	20,054	97.41
360,364	2.7	84.10	360,364	84.10

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Years Ended December 31,
2017	2016	2015
Weighted-	Weighted-	Weighted-
Average	Average	Average
Grant Date	Grant Date	Grant Date
Restricted (non-vested) Shares	Shares	Fair Value	Shares	Fair Value	Shares	Fair Value
Outstanding at January 1,	435,338	$164.21	435,336	$143.02	467,745	$120.84
Granted	160,185	234.01	173,546	186.37	156,262	178.80
Vested	152,397	151.80	145,834	130.54	154,387	113.12
Forfeited	21,865	187.82	27,710	147.32	34,284	138.19
Outstanding at December 31,	421,261	194.01	435,338	164.21	435,336	143.02

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Years Ended December 31,
(Dollars in millions)	2017	2016	2015
Gross reserves	$449.0	$441.1	$433.1
Reinsurance receivable	-130.9	-122.0	-113.5
Net reserves	$318.1	$319.1	$319.6
(Some amounts may not reconcile due to rounding.)

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Question: In the year with largest amount of Granted of Shares in Table 3, what's the increasing rate of Net reserves in Table 4?
Answer: -0.0015600000000000002