|
Hartford Fire Insurance Company Selects RMS Peril
Model to Set Pricing for Catastrophe Bond Program
Newark, Calif. – March 21, 2006 – Risk
Management Solutions (RMS), the world’s leading provider of products and
services for the management of natural hazard risk, has announced that
its independent risk analysis of securitized collateral has enabled
Hartford Fire Insurance Company (HFIC) to purchase reinsurance cover
supported by the issuance of $105 million Class D notes issued by
Foundation Re, Ltd. from its $750 million catastrophe bond program.
The Class D notes, along with proceeds from
previously issued offerings, will serve to provide HFIC with a source of
indexed cover for earthquake and hurricane losses in the United States
over a four-year period, as determined by the Property Claims Service
(PCS).
Each class of notes covers a proportional share of layered earthquake
and hurricane losses. The Class D variable rate notes due February 24,
2010 have been assigned a “BB” senior secured debt rating by Standard &
Poor’s.
“This transaction reflects RMS’ continued commitment
to facilitating the growth and liquidity of the catastrophe bond
market,” said Peter Nakada, managing director of RMS Consulting.
The RMS peril model assessment of underlying assets
of the Class D notes applied weightings according to risk exposure by
state and by line of business. The Class D notes cover a 26.25% quota
share of catastrophic earthquake and hurricane index losses in the range
of $1.34 -$1.74 billion. The RMS analysis determined that the Class D
notes have an annual probability of attachment of 1.59% and a four-year
probability of attachment of 6.21%.
“We expect to see more and more transactions like
this resulting from a virtuous cycle of increased issuance, better
liquidity, heightened investor demand, and lower all-in-cost,” Mr.
Nakada added.
|