Swiss Re issues $200 million in cat bonds covering hurricane, extreme mortality

The Swiss Re Group announced that on Nov. 5 it closed the private placement of US$200 million worth of bonds, intended to cover risks including hurricanes in the North Atlantic.

The bonds were placed through SPRV Mythen Re Ltd. Swiss Re said earlier that the Mythen cat bond program, named after the Mythenquai in Zurich where the Swiss Re global headquarters is located, will replace the Successor X program.

In the latest private placement, one tranche of notes, worth a total of US$80 million, covers North Atlantic hurricane risks while the other tranche, worth US$120 million, covers both the hurricane risk and risk of extreme mortality in the U.K., according to a Swiss Re press release Nov. 6.

The $120 million tranche of Class A notes were rated B+ by Standard and Poor’s Financial Services LLC while S&P gave a B- rating to the $80-million tranche of Class C notes, Swiss Re says.

The notes will run until the end of 2016.