Office of Insurance Approves Lower Collateral Requirements for RenRe
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has entered into a Consent Order with Renaissance Reinsurance Ltd. approving it as an eligible reinsurer and allowing it to transaction property catastrophe reinsurance in Florida with reduced collateral requirements. OIR approved the modified collateral requirements for RenRe in part because the reinsurer has almost $1.5 billion in statutory capital and surplus and it holds strong financial strength ratings from established rating agencies.
Florida has adopted rules attempting to reduce barriers for reinsurers to participate in the catastrophic property reinsurance marketplace by allowing them to back reinsurance contracts with less than 100% collateral. OIR has approved seven reinsurance companies to operate in Florida under modified terms. The six companies approved prior to RenRe are Hannover Ruckversicherung AG (Hannover Re), Hannover Re (Bermuda) Ltd., XL Re Ltd., Ace Tempest Reinsurance Ltd., Hiscox Insurance Company (Bermuda) Ltd., and Partner Reinsurance Company Ltd.
The Consent Order expires by its terms on December 31, 2013 but can be extended.