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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
ZURICHSwiss Reinsurance Co. Ltd. said Monday that it has completed a $120 million catastrophe bond placement to cover a portion of its catastrophe losses from North Atlantic hurricanes, European windstorms, and California and Japan earthquakes.
The bond, Successor X Ltd. Series 2010-1, is the second transaction to be issued through Swiss Re’s Successor X programa Cayman Islands-based special-purpose vehicle. The transaction covers a three-year period ending in March 2013.
Swiss Re said it is the first cat bond transaction to use a European windstorm index based on data from PERILS A.G. the independent Zurich-based provider formed last year. In December, Munich Reinsurance Co. and Willis Re placed industry loss warranty contracts to reinsure European windstorm risks using data from PERILS.
PERILS aims to replicate the success of the U.S.-based Insurance Services Office Inc.’s Property Claims Services unit, collecting data from the European reinsurance industry to compile industrywide loss estimates.
“Swiss Re welcomes this independent industry initiative and sees it as an important step towards more efficient and transparent risk transfer in Europe,” Brian Gray, Swiss Re’s chief underwriting officer, said in a statement.