Willis Re Securities, in collaboration with Willis Re, has announced that it has structured and placed US$100 million in insurance-linked securities for Minnesota Life, a life insurance subsidiary of Securian Financial Group.
The bond, La Vie Re, closed October 23. It is the first underwritten Rule 144A catastrophe bond exposed to extreme mortality risk on an indemnity basis. It provides Minnesota Life and Securian Financial Group with a single US$100 million tranche of fully collateralized protection against a deterioration in the performance of its group life business over a three-year period, Willis Re Securities said. The structure features an indemnity trigger on an annual loss ratio basis.
“We are proud to have supported Securian in its inaugural catastrophe bond transaction,” said Quentin Perrot, senior vice president at Willis Re Securities. “Thanks to the robust structure that an underwritten Rule 144A cat bond offers, investors have supported this first indemnity extreme mortality bond. This speaks to the increased openness of the ILS market to not only broaden the scope of assumed risks, but also recognizes the strength of the Minnesota Life portfolio.”
“The La Vie Re cat bond will allow Securian Financial long-term and more sustainable access to the broader capital market investors,” said Jim Fallon, executive vice president at Willis Re. “It demonstrates Securian Financial’s strategic utilization of all the available resources of reinsurance capital. Our team’s deep technical knowledge of life, accident and health risk, ability to collaborate with our client, and determination to find optimal solutions were instrumental in successfully navigating the challenges of the present market environment. We are delighted to strengthen our relationship with Securian Financial through the issuance of this catastrophe bond.”
