Atlas Reinsurance II plc

SCOR Group announced that it has placed in the capital market, a second multi-year reinsurance protection of USD 150 million intended to cover claims linked to natural catastrophe events from January 1, 2002.

The cover was placed through Atlas Re II a special purpose vehicle incorporated in Ireland, to protect SCOR for a period of three years against the occurrence of earthquakes in California and Japan, and windstorms in Northern Europe.

Atlas Re II complements the USD 100 million per event cover of Atlas Re, which already protects SCOR against the occurrence of a first event of the same nature. Atlas Re II provides coverage for a second or third event during a given year, with a USD 100 million per event limit and a USD 150 million limit over three years.

RMS worked with SCOR to design parametric triggers for the three geographic regions covered by the transaction. For the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles, the triggers are based on reported earthquake magnitude within twelve geographical ‘boxes’ surrounding sources of major tectonic activity.

The European windstorm trigger is an index calculated from windspeeds at 600 measuring stations across five countries in Western Europe.

For these perils, the triggers are similar to those constructed last year by RMS for PRIME CalQuake & EuroWind Ltd., but have been specifically adapted for SCOR’s exposure.

For Japan, a new parametric box structure has been produced which fits with SCOR’s exposure by covering both CRESTA zones 5 and 6.