Syndicate to cover U.S. catastrophes

LONDON— Chaucer Holdings P.L.C. and ICAT Holdings L.L.C. have established a syndicate at Lloyd's of London to underwrite U.S. catastrophe business for medium and small companies.

Syndicate 4242 will have underwriting capacity of $148 million for 2007.

Starting Jan. 1, the syndicate will underwrite insurance in catastrophe-exposed areas of the United States.

ICAT Managers, a Boulder, Colo.-based managing agency, will write most of the syndicate's business through Lloyd's-approved coverholder arrangements, the two companies said in a statement.

The syndicate will be managed by Chaucer Syndicates Ltd., Chaucer's managing agency. Chaucer manages multiline syndicate 1084 and nuclear syndicate 1176 at Lloyd's.

"Chaucer was attracted to working with ICAT due to its reputation in the market as a disciplined specialty underwriter," Bob Stuchbery, chief underwriting officer of Chaucer, said in the statement. "We are excited to be their partner in Syndicate 4242."

ICAT's Gregory Butler is the active underwriter of Syndicate 4242. He has held several underwriting positions at ICAT and was the founding chief executive officer of the California Earthquake Authority.