RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. teamed with Dutch pension fund manager PGGM to launch Vermeer Reinsurance Lt., a reinsurer designed to provide capacity focused on risk remote layers in the U.S. property-catastrophe market.

PGGM is a Dutch pension fund service provider with more than $244 billion of assets under management. It has a 13-year track record of investing in insurance and is currently one of the largest end-investors in the ILS asset class, the deal announcement noted.

Vermeer will be initially capitalized with $600 million of equity from PGGM, with up to a further $400 million available to pursue growth opportunities in 2019, for a total of $1 billion of capital. The company has received an “A” financial strength rating from A.M. Best and has obtained approval in principle to be licensed and regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority as a Class 3B reinsurer. Vermeer will be managed by Renaissance Underwriting Managers Ltd. and is expected to be consolidated into RenaissanceRe’s financial statements. PGGM is the sole investor in Vermeer.

Aditya Dutt, president of Renaissance Underwriting Managers Ltd., said in prepared remarks that the PGGM partnership “continues RenaissanceRe’s 20-year track record of creating and managing joint ventures that match well-underwritten portfolios of risk to diverse sources of capital.”

Eveline Takken-Somers, senior director, credit and insurance-linked investments of PGGM, said the deal provides a good use of its investment capital.

“Since 2014, we have focused on building strategic partnerships with top-tier reinsurance companies to improve access to and selection of risk,” Takken-Somers said in prepared remarks. “We seek efficient implementation of our investments as we believe this leads to superior returns.”

Source: RenaissanceRe, PGGM