Flood Re secures nearly $2 billion in coverage

Flood Re, the U.K. government-insurer backed flood reinsurer, said Wednesday it had secured £1.29 billion ($1.97 billion) of retrocessional coverage per year as part of a three-year program and is now entering into a second phase of a tender process to purchase a further £720 million ($1.09 billion) of cover.

London-based Flood Re said the coverage was led by Munich Reinsurance Co. and Swiss Re Ltd., which had contributed “very significant support.”

Flood Re, which was approved by U.K. Flooding Minister Rory Stewart last week, will begin underwriting in April 2016.

“The successful completion of phase one of the reinsurance procurement process is an important milestone on the road towards Flood Re becoming a reality,” Brendan McCafferty, CEO of Flood Re, said in a statement.

“We are delighted with the strong demand within the reinsurance market, which saw the program being significantly oversubscribed,” he said.