Willis Re Securities, in collaboration with Willis Re – the reinsurance division of Willis Towers Watson – has announced that it has structured and placed €100 million (around CA$153 million) of insurance-linked securities (ILS) for Achmea Reinsurance Company N.V., the reinsurance arm of Dutch insurance group Achmea B.V.
Windmill II Re DAC settled Monday and provides Achmea Reinsurance with a single €100 million tranche of fully collateralized protection against European windstorm risk for four years, according to Willis Re Securities.
“The structure features an indemnity trigger on a per occurrence basis with terms mirroring the traditional reinsurance placement to ensure effective integration within the overall property catastrophe reinsurance program,” Willis Re said. The transaction was the first catastrophe bond exposed to primary European risk in 2020.
“We are proud to have supported Achmea Reinsurance in its inaugural 14A catastrophe bond transaction,” said Quentin Perrot, head of ILS international for Willis Re Securities. “For the first time in 2020, a cat bond priced below the initial target range, demonstrating that cedants with a high quality and diversifying risk profile can achieve success in the cat bond market today. The dedication of the Achmea Reinsurance team throughout this project played a key role to ensure this great result. With this new issuance, Willis Re Securities maintains its unrivalled leadership position in the structuring and placement of European ILS transactions.”
“Windmill II Re was a natural step forward in Achmea Reinsurance’s relationship with the ILS marketplace, which has now matured into a partnership with a wide panel of ILS investors,” said Maya Popovic-Biereth, regional director for Willis Re EMEA N/E. “The transaction demonstrates the cedant’s strategic utilization of all the available sources of reinsurance capital and secures a multi-year capacity seamlessly integrated within their catastrophe program. Our collaborative culture, adaptability and resilience at Willis Re was instrumental in assisting the client to successfully navigate the challenges of the present market environment. We are delighted to have been able to broaden our relationship with Achmea through the issuance of this catastrophe bond.”
