Silverton Re sidecar renewed at $130m by Aspen Re

Aspen Reinsurance has renewed its Silverton Re collateralised reinsurance sidecar at a size of $130 million for the 2017 underwriting year, a slight upsizing from the prior year and with its own $25 million contribution remaining steady.

Insurance and reinsurance group Aspen has been regularly bringing its Silverton Re Bermuda-domiciled sidecar special purpose reinsurance vehicle to investors since it launched it in December 2013 with $50m of third-party capital and $15 million of capital from Aspen, taking it to $65 million in size.

In December 2014 the Silverton Re sidecar was renewed with $85 million of capital in total, made up of $70 million from third-party investors and $15 million from Aspen itself. In December 2015 Silverton Re was renewed again, at an upsized $125 million, with $100 million from third-parties and an increased contribution of $25 million from Aspen itself.

Now a slight upsizing sees third-party investors contributing $105 million and Aspen $25 million, taking the sidecar vehicle to $130 million for the 2017 underwriting year.

Aspen uses Silverton Re to provide additional collateralised capacity to support its global reinsurance business.

Silverton Re will enter into a quota share retrocession agreement with Aspen Bermuda Limited and Aspen Insurance UK Limited for the 2017 underwriting year, reinsuring a proportionate share of Aspen Re’s globally diversified property catastrophe excess of loss portfolio.

Thomas Lillelund, Chief Executive Officer, Aspen Re, commented; “When we established Aspen Capital Markets over three years ago, our objective was to develop alternative reinsurance structures to leverage our existing underwriting franchise, increase our operational flexibility in the capital markets and provide investors with direct access to our underwriting expertise.

“Silverton Re is an integral part of this strategy and gives investors access to diversified natural catastrophe risk backed by the distribution, underwriting, analytical and research expertise of Aspen Re. We are delighted with the progress that Brian Tobben and the Aspen Capital Markets team have made to date as we continue to develop strong partnerships with new investors.”

Aon Securities Inc. acted as the placement agent for this Silverton Re sidecar renewal. The capital has been raised through the issuance of Series 2017-1 Participating Notes which will mature on September 16, 2019.

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