Liberty Mutual renews Limestone Re sidecar at $240m despite 'challenging ILS market'

US insurer Liberty Mutual has renewed its Bermuda domiciled reinsurance sidecar Limestone Re at approximately $240 million, an overall lower target size than  last year's $278 million due to a "revised portfolio composition".

It provides reinsurance capacity from capital markets investors for the company's US property catastrophe programme and global treaty property reinsurance business.

The transaction has been completed through the issuance of $135 million of Limestone Re 2019-2 Bermuda Stock Exchange listed notes, with the remainder of the capacity provided via private placements.

"This result reaffirms the quality of risk which insurance-linked securities (ILS) investors can access via Limestone Re. The risk quality, matched to the Company's global reach and excellent track record, continues to differentiate Limestone Re as a partner of choice for ILS investors," said James Slaughter, executive vice president and chief underwriting officer of Liberty Mutual's Global Risk Solutions strategic business unit.

"Third-party capital will continue to be a growing presence in the (re)insurance market, and the Limestone Re platform remains an integral component of Liberty Mutual's strategy for accessing this capital," Slaughter added.

According to Arno Gartzke, vice president and director of ILS, Liberty Mutual: "The continued support from our key capital markets partners enabled a successful placement despite a challenging ILS market, and provides a robust foundation for the Limestone Re platform going forward. The strong performance of previous Limestone Re placements relative to the broader ILS market through 2017 and 2018 is reflected in this solid base of support."

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