Category: Iris Reinsurance

Iris will provide reinsurance coverage for a variety of natural catastrophes.

June 5, 2009

By Kelly Holman

IDDmagazine.com

Cartesian Capital Group has formed Iris Reinsurance Ltd., marking the firm’s first investment in the reinsurance industry.

The New York private equity firm, which manages $1.1 billion, has backed the launch of the Hamilton, Bermuda-based reinsurance company with an undisclosed amount of capital.

“You have an increase in demand and a contraction in supply, but the underlying risk of natural disasters remains unchanged,” said Peter Yu, managing partner of Cartesian Capital.

Iris will provide reinsurance coverage via industry-loss warranties for a variety of natural catastrophes including earthquakes, hurricanes and wind storms.

The launch of the reinsurer couldn’t be more timely.

The Atlantic Ocean is expected to spawn five hurricanes and 11 named storms through November, according to the latest data from Colorado State University.

Iris will led by an executive team that includes former Credit Suisse director G. Chase Toogood and G. Schuyler Havens, formerly the chief financial officer and head of corporate development at Freestone Capital Management in Seattle.

The investment fits nicely with Cartesian Capital’s focus, according to Yu. “Our strategy over the years has been to look for long-term continuity opportunities and take advantage of market dislocations.”

Yu served as chief executive of American International Group private equity unit AIG Capital Partners prior to launching Cartesian in 2005.

He will sit on Iris’ board along with principals Charles Mixon III and Gregory Armstrong.

Kirkland & Ellis served as counsel to Cartesian, which also received legal advice from Bermuda law firm Appleby Global.

Iris is backed solely by Cartesian, which joins a stable of other private equity firms that have invested in reinsurance companies in recent years.

A syndicate of well-known financial sponsors that included Stone Point Capital LLC, Diamond Castle Holdings and Credit Suisse’s DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, for example, launched Hamilton reinsurer Harbor Point Ltd. with $1.5 billion in 2005.

June 5, 2009

Erin Griffith

PEhub.com

In a world of uncertainty, Cartesian Capital Group is betting on one thing it knows hasn’t changed: natural disasters. This week the firm launched operations for its new catastrophe reinsurance business, called Iris Reinsurance. The business will be led by Chase Toogood, formerly with Credit Suisse and ACE Capital Re.

Read the full article at:

www.pehub.com/login.php?p=/41500/new-cartesian-business-finds-visibility-in-the-eye-of-the-storm/

June 4, 2009

Meg Green

Best’s Insurance News

HAMILTON, Bermuda (BestWire) – Private equity firm Cartesian Capital Group has launched a new Bermuda reinsurance company that will primarily write industry loss warranties and has teamed up with Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. to launch a new investment fund focused on industry-linked securities.

Iris Reinsurance Ltd. is a class 3 Bermuda reinsurer and will write ILWs to cover a wide spectrum of catastrophic perils globally.

June 4, 2009

Rebecca Bole

Trading Risk

Private equity firm Cartesian Capital Group has created a Bermudian Class 3 insurer – Iris Reinsurance Ltd – expected to offer an estimated $100mn in industry loss warranties (ILW) capacity. Iris is Cartesian’s first foray into insurance-linked investing, a spokesman told Trading Risk. The global financial crisis and a surge in ILW rates – which have increased up to 60 percent this year – are cited as catalysts for the creation of Iris.

“The global financial crisis has created a true dislocation in the reinsurance markets,” said Peter Yu, managing partner of Cartesian and director of IrisRe. “While the underlying risks remain largely unchanged, the financial crisis has fuelled both strong demand for reinsurance and a significant reduction in the reinsurance capacity of the capital markets.”

Iris Re is believed to have $100mn in initial capacity, according to senior market sources. Although it will also offer other reinsurance products, it will focus on the ILW market.

Cartesian – a New York-headquartered private equity firm which manages $1.1bn in investments worldwide – has hired ex-Credit Suisse ILW trader Chase Toogood to manage Iris Re’s ILW portfolio.

Previously, Toogood was with ACE Capital Re, where he specialised in structured products and financial guaranty reinsurance. He is joined by Schuyler Havens, who joins the reinsurer from Seattle-based investment advisor Freestone Capital Management.

Yu founded Cartesian in 2006, having left AIG Capital Partners with other members of the senior management team.

Although there is anecdotal evidence of ILW rates softening as 1 June renewals crystallise and it becomes apparent that traditional capacity is more plentiful than originally thought, ILW rates are still historically high.

ILW pricing in 2009 has increased by up to 60 percent on certain contracts, with rates on line for Nationwide US wind contracts tipping the 50 percent rate on line mark, according to the latest pricing data from ICAP-JLT.

June 3, 2009

PE Hub

Cartesian Capital Group has formed Iris Reinsurance Ltd., a Bermuda-based provider of industry-loss warranties. No financial terms were disclosed. Iris Reinsurance will be run by Chase Toogood (formerly with Credit Suisse and ACE Capital Re) and Schuyler Havens (Freestone Capital Management).

PRESS RELEASE

Cartesian Capital Group, a global private equity firm, today announced the creation of Iris Reinsurance Ltd., an authorized Class-3 reinsurer based in Bermuda. Formed in conjunction with Chase Toogood and Schuyler Havens, “IrisRe” will offer reinsurance primarily in the form of industry-loss warranties and cover a wide spectrum of catastrophic perils globally.

Read the full article at:

www.pehub.com/login.php?p=/41345/cartesian-forms-iris-reinsurance/