Press Release

Catlin Bermuda Develops Affordable Nuclear-Chemical-Biological Terrorism Insurance and Reinsurance Coverage

6 December 2006

HAMILTON, Bermuda – Catlin Insurance Company Ltd. (Catlin Bermuda), a subsidiary of Catlin Group Limited (‘CGL’: London Stock Exchange), has developed an insurance and reinsurance product that provides affordable coverage for acts of nuclear, chemical, biological or radiological (NCBR) terrorism.

 

Insurers have, historically, been reluctant to provide coverage for NCBR events partly due to the unacceptable accumulation of risk posed by these types of events. Catlin Bermuda has developed a product which overcomes this problem by restricting the coverage to NCBR events which occur in a specified geographic area that is pre-defined by the insured or cedant. The Catlin coverage can be provided on an insurance or reinsurance basis and can cover most underlying forms of insurance (e.g. workers compensation, property damage, business interruption etc.).

 

By restricting the geographic area covered, Catlin Bermuda has created a product whereby significantly more insurance and reinsurance capacity should now be available for NCBR terrorism at much more reasonable pricing levels. 

 

Catlin Bermuda is rated ‘A’ (Excellent) by A.M. Best and A- (Strong) by Standard & Poor’s.

 

The Catlin coverage can be used to supplement individual countries’ national terrorism insurance frameworks, such as the US Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act (TRIEA).  This can be done either by providing protection for losses within an assured’s or cedant’s retentions, co-participation or plugging other gaps in the frameworks (such as personal accident exclusions). It is important to note that in the United States this coverage includes both TRIEA and non-TRIEA (i.e. domestic terrorism) events related to an NCBR attack.

 

A leading catastrophe modelling agency has stated there is a 5 per cent probability of an NCBR terrorist event occurring in the United States within the next 12 months. There have been serious NCBR events in the recent past including the release of Sarin gas in the Tokyo subway system in 1995 and the Anthrax attacks that occurred in the United States in 2001. In addition there have been planned Ricin attacks in London and a planned dirty bomb attack in Moscow.

 

Typical risks quoted to date include energy installations, railway stations, ports, airports, sports stadiums and large office buildings.  The geographic area covered can vary from a quarter-mile radius to state- or province-wide coverage.  The price will vary depending upon the size of area covered and the location insured.  Coverage can be provided inside and outside the United States. 

 

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For more information:

Media Relations:    
James Burcke,
Head of Communications,
London

Tel:
Mobile:
E-Mail:

 +44 (0)20 7458 5710
+44 (0)7958 767 738
james.burcke@catlin.com 
Liz Morley,
Maitland, London		 Tel:
E-mail:		 +44 (0)20 7379 5151
emorley@maitland.co.uk
Investor Relations:    
William Spurgin,
Head of Investor Relations,
London

Tel:
Mobile:
E-mail:

 +44 (0)20 7458 5726
+44 (0)7710 314 365
william.spurgin@catlin.com

Notes:

1.   Catlin Group Limited, headquartered in Bermuda, is an international specialist property/casualty insurer and reinsurer writing more than 30 classes of business worldwide. Catlin wrote gross premiums of $1.4 billion in 2005.  Catlin shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: CGL).  More information about Catlin can be found at www.catlin.com.
2.  

 Catlin operates four underwriting platforms:

  • The Catlin Syndicate at Lloyd’s of London (Syndicate 2003), which is one of the largest syndicates at Lloyd’s based on 2006 premium capacity of Ł450 million. It is a recognised leader of numerous classes of specialty insurance and reinsurance. 
  • Catlin Bermuda (Catlin Insurance Company Ltd.), which underwrites property treaty and casualty treaty reinsurance and property and casualty insurance.
  • Catlin UK (Catlin Insurance Company (UK) Ltd.), which specialises in underwriting commercial non-life insurance for UK clients. It also writes other classes of business written by the Catlin Syndicate.

  • Catlin US, which encompasses all of Catlin’s operations in the United States. Catlin US includes Catlin Insurance Company Inc., an admitted US insurer which will commence operations soon, along with underwriting offices in several US cities.

The Catlin Syndicate, Catlin Bermuda and Catlin UK have financial strength ratings of ‘A’ (Excellent) from A.M. Best Company.  Catlin Bermuda and Catlin UK have insurance financial strength ratings of ‘A-‘ (Strong) from Standard & Poor’s, whilst the Catlin Syndicate has a Lloyd’s Syndicate Assessment of ‘4-‘ (Low Dependency) from Standard & Poor’s.

3.  

Catlin also operates offices worldwide which allow Catlin underwriters to work closely with local policyholders and brokers.  The offices are located in the United States (Atlanta, Houston, New Orleans, New York and San Francisco), Canada (Toronto and Calgary), Australia (Sydney), Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Germany (Cologne), Belgium (Antwerp) and Guernsey.  Catlin UK has regional offices in Glasgow, Leeds, Derby, Birmingham and Watford.

4.  

On 30 October 2006 the Boards of Catlin Group Limited and Wellington Underwriting plc announced they had agreed the terms of a recommended offer by Catlin for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Wellington.  The offer is expected to be completed by the end of 2006.