Aon Benfield Securities Launches CATstream for Cedants’ Cat Bond Coverage

Aon Benfield Securities, the investment banking division of global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor Aon Benfield, has announced the launch of CATstream – a new client facility, which it said “offers cedants faster and more efficient access to capital markets capacity for catastrophe risk.”

The bulletin noted that Catstream features “template documentation and pre-agreed wordings,” which enables “catastrophe bonds to be established in less than half the time of the typical non-standardized products. With faster access to capital markets capacity, cedants can take advantage of additional risk transfer capacity in note form.”

Aon Securities also explained that CATstream currently allows for the domiciliation of special purpose insurers (SPIs) – the vehicles utilized in the structuring of catastrophe bonds – in Bermuda and Ireland.

“The streamlined documents developed for CATstream have been reviewed and approved by the associated service providers and regulators, in order that transactions can be brought to market more quickly and with lower frictional costs.”

The new facility can also be used to “structure transactions with index and indemnity trigger structures that relate to a broad range of perils and territories, allowing clients to enjoy capacity diversification, multi-year capacity and multi-year known pricing.”

Aon Benfield Securities CEO Paul Schultz commented: “We are launching CATstream at a time when the insurance-linked securities market is showing continued strength; where sponsor and investor demand for ILS products is at an all-time high.

“We believe that this facility can only promote the growth of the market, by enabling sponsors to secure capital markets coverage within a short timeframe for the structuring of products in strong and proven domiciles at lower frictional costs.”

Source: Aon Benfield Securities

Topics Catastrophe New Markets Aon