Assurant on the purchase of $130m of reinsurance through Ibis Re II Ltd. cat bond

Specialty insurance company Assurant Inc. have published a press release on the completion of their Ibis Re II Ltd. Series 2012-1 catastrophe bond this week. It’s Assurant’s third cat bond deal under an Ibis Re SPV. The latest deal which secured Assurant $130m of collateralized reinsurance coverage via a cat bond will replace some of the coverage from the $150m 2009 Ibis Re Ltd. cat bond which matures in May 2012.

Certain subsidiaries of Assurant entered into $130m of reinsurance agreements with Cayman Islands domiciled Ibis Re II Ltd. which financed the agreements through the sale of catastrophe bond notes to qualified institutional buyers. Assurant says that the coverage from Ibis Re II complements their traditional reinsurance and provides broad protection from catastrophic storm activity.

Ibis Re II provides Assurant subsidiaries with two layers of coverage against losses from individual hurricane events in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and along the Gulf and Eastern Coasts of the U.S. The deal upsized before close from $100m to $130m.

“We are pleased to have successfully placed this property catastrophe reinsurance coverage, which supplements Assurant’s Catastrophe Reinsurance Program,” said Gene Mergelmeyer, president and CEO of Assurant Specialty Property. “Guided by a long-term perspective and a strong risk management strategy, Assurant continually works to further protect our clients and shareholders from the risk created by catastrophic storm activity.”