Aspen Re renews Silverton Re with $85m capital

Aspen Re has renewed its specialist collateralized reinsurance sidecar for 2015 with $85 million of new capital.

Silverton Re, which is managed by Aspen Capital Markets, is a Bermuda-domiciled special purpose insurer established in December 2013 with $65 million of capital to provide additional capacity to support Aspen Re’s global reinsurance business.

The $85 million raised will be used to write a quota share of Aspen Re’s property-catastrophe portfolio. Some $15 million of the funding is provided by Aspen and additional funding is secured from third-party investors.

Aon Benfield Securities acted as the placement agent on the deal. The capital is being raised through the issuance of Series 2015-1 Participating Notes which will mature on September 18, 2017.

Silverton Re will enter into a quota share retrocession agreement with Aspen Bermuda under which Silverton Re will reinsure a proportionate share of Aspen Re’s property catastrophe excess of loss portfolio.

Stephen Postlewhite, chief executive officer of Aspen Re, said: “Our objective when we established Silverton Re was to partner with the capital markets so that we are able to provide investors with access to diversified natural catastrophe risk backed by the distribution, underwriting, analysis and research expertise of Aspen Re. We are pleased with the progress that we have made in developing strong partnerships with new investors.”