Zurich:

Swiss Re has successfully closed a second private sidecar transaction with the Dutch pension fund manager PGGM. The transaction increases PGGM’s overall investment in Swiss Re’s sidecar vehicle, Viaduct Re Ltd., to over USD 500 million. 

The transaction is a further milestone for Swiss Re’s Alternative Capital Partners team, which was formed in 2019 to manage Swiss Re’s third-party capital activities. Alternative Capital Partners enables Swiss Re to grow its natural catastrophe book and proactively manage its risk appetite by making use of a broad range of third-party capital and retrocession instruments.

Philipp Rüede,Head Alternative Capital Partners at Swiss Re, said, “We are very excited to strengthen our relationship with one of the leading and most sophisticated investors in the ILS market. Swiss Re has built a market-leading position as the home for natural catastrophe risks based on our experience in underwriting, our proprietary R&D and our strong client franchise.We are delighted to strengthen our long-term ties with PGGM, a similarly innovative partner.”

The transaction allows PGGM to access a portion of Swiss Re’s core natural catastrophe property treaty reinsurance portfolio through Viaduct Re Ltd.,a special purpose insurer and segregated accounts company. PGGM’s investment fully capitalises a new and distinct sidecar covering worldwide treaty reinsurance business focused on natural catastrophe perils.In addition the transaction increases PGGM’s investment into an initial sidecar established in July 2019, which focuses on U.S. property reinsurance risks.

Eveline Takken-Somers, Senior Director at PGGM, said, “We are delighted about deepening and expanding our partnership with Swiss Re and we are impressed by the timeframe in which we managed to achieve this together. Through our investment in Viaduct Re we gain access to Swiss Re’s excellent global underwriting, modelling capabilities and claims handling expertise.

This transaction allows us to further optimize our client’s steadily growing Insurance Linked Investments portfolio. We particularly value Swiss Re’s transparency and open mind towards new products and look forward to continuing to work with them.