Horseshoe and Rewire create ILS market-making platform
Insurance-linked securities (ILS) firms Horseshoe and Rewire Securities have launched Eclipse Re, a market-making platform that will allow the creation of collateralised bonds. Horseshoe will be the administrator for Bermuda-based Eclipse, while Rewire will perform structuring and placement. Eclipse will offer sponsors "a low-cost and efficient way to access the ILS markets", the firms said. They say the platform will allow sponsors and investors to more easily transform and securitise reinsurance risks into an investable and transferable note form.

Eclipse Re Ltd., a private syndicated collateralized reinsurance note platform, has been launched by Bermuda-headquartered ILS management, servicing, transformation and fronting specialist Horseshoe Group and boutique insurance investment banking specialists Rewire Securities LLC.



The launch of Eclipse Re Ltd. is targeted to bring turnkey ILS market services to investors and sponsors worldwide who seek collateralized reinsurance participation in a listed note format.

Through the new platform, insurance and reinsurance linked securities (ILS) management group Horseshoe and investment banking and broker dealer specialists Rewire aim to enable sponsors and investors to more easily transform and securitize reinsurance risks into an investable and transferable note form.

Horseshoe Group CEO, Andre Perez commented; “As the leading full-service ILS service provider, Horseshoe continues its commitment to being responsive to clients’ needs and providing the highest level of innovative and efficient professional services. Eclipse Re will provide a vehicle for investors to participate in the collateralized reinsurance market with the benefit of liquidity not previously available through traditional platforms. We are excited to support the BSX as a Listing Sponsor and launching this product to expand our broad capabilities in the ILS marketplace.”

Rewire CEO Stefano Sola added; “Rewire’s key focus has been to bring more efficient solutions to sponsors and investors in the ILS market. Eclipse Re is the next step in the evolution of ILS products, allowing investors to hold a liquid note which can be traded through the Rewireconnect marketplace, while also minimizing cost and time-to-market for sponsors. We are excited to partner with Horseshoe and offer this product to corporates, governments, insurers, reinsurers and investors globally.”

Eclipse Re Ltd. is a licensed Bermuda special purpose insurance and reinsurance vehicle with a segregated account structure. The vehicle will allow cedents and investors to more easily transact collaterlized reinsurance and other insurance risks into a securitized note format.

The platform is designed to be open and the partners explain that it “offers investors a conduit for their own private transactions with the benefit of syndication and liquidity.”

Through the platform sponsors and investors will benefit from a full-service solution, including structuring, placement, secondary liquidity and administration of deals, all with standardized documentation designed to make issuance an easier and lower friction effort.

Eclipse Re is expected to attract sponsors such as insurers, reinsurers, corporates and funds, working with investors on the other side of the deal, all of whom who will benefit from an ILS issuance structured by Rewire and administered by Horseshoe.

ILS and reinsurance notes issued by Eclipse Re can be structured in as short a timeframe as 2 to 3 weeks, the pair said, offering provide sponsors am efficient and low-cost way to access the ILS and capital markets in reinsurance.

Eclipse Re notes will be listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) and will be tradeable in the secondary market, using the “rewireconnect” trading platform which already has significant investor uptake, meaning liquidity will be available to investors and syndication can be broader while being efficient and automated.

The pair said Eclipse Re notes are designed so as to offer the market what it what it has been demanding, an efficient alternative to traditional transformer vehicles.

The notes can be listed on a recognised securities exchange, the BSX, have the potential to be liquid as a result, offer investors an asset in note form rather than an illiquid reinsurance deal, and provide the ability to have a market valuation of risk positions taken.

In conjunction with the announcement, Horseshoe said that it was also revealing that Horseshoe Corporate Services Ltd., a subsidiary, has joined the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) as a Listing Sponsor and will be the service provide that offers Listing Sponsor services to global clients that utilise Eclipse Re for note issuances.

Horseshoe’s new listing sponsor entity will also be able to offer such service for other transactions outside of Eclipse Re as well.

The Eclipse Re platform offers another option for those cedents or investors looking for ways and platforms to issue private catastrophe bond transactions and to transform collateralized reinsurance into something more liquid and tradable.