MONTPELIER INVESTS $133M IN NEW RETROCESSIONAIRE

Bermudian reinsurer Montpelier Re Holdings is among the investors that have contributed capital to new Bermuda-based property catastrophe retrocessionaire Blue Ocean Reinsurance. Blue Ocean has received commitments of $300m in common and preferred equity from investors, including $133m from Montpelier, and anticipates underwriting gross aggregate policy limits of $350m or more. Montpelier’s Montpelier Agency unit will provide underwriting services for Blue Ocean, with underwriting overseen by John Bassett, a director of the unit. Montpelier CEO Anthony Taylor said that the “separate capitalisation of Blue Ocean will allow us to take advantage of favourable underwriting opportunities efficiently in what has become one of the most capital-intensive classes of reinsurance.”