Travelers arranges $500 million cat bond

SAINT PAUL, Minn.-- Travelers Cos. Inc. has arranged a three-year, $500 million catastrophe bond reinsurance program for hurricanes and other loss events occurring in the Northeast United States, the St. Paul, Minn.-based insurer announced Tuesday.

Under the arrangement with Longpoint Re Ltd., a new Cayman Islands insurer, Travelers may obtain reinsurance by entering into one or more agreements in which the amounts payable to Travelers will be based on an index.

Travelers will be entitled to recover reinsurance if index-based losses reach a trigger of $2.25 billion. The index was created by applying a predetermined percentage to insured industry losses in each state of the covered region as reported by Property Claims Services, a unit of Insurance Services Offices Inc.