Dateline: 25/10/1999
SCHAUMBURG, IL -- Zurich U.S., a leading commercial property and casualty insurance company, today announced a new political risk insurance product for capital market transactions, such as private placements and Rule 144A bond issuances. The political risk coverage, designed to protect bonds in emerging markets against the risk of currency inconvertibility, expropriation, and political violence, allows the covered bonds to attain a significantly higher rating from rating agencies. Zurich U.S. is the first private insurer to offer this coverage.
"Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co. has reviewed Zurich's path-breaking political risk insurance policy for the bond market and thinks that it will provide much needed risk mitigation for project and corporate bonds in emerging markets," said Daniel Bond, Vice President of Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Company's sovereign group and the agency's Chief Economist. "Given the potential demand and capacity constraints, we welcome the entrance of a major private sector insurer into this marketplace."
Zurich U.S. can provide up to $100 million in coverage per transaction and can match the tenor of the insured bond, up to a term of 15 years. Zurich U.S. has rapidly established itself as a leading underwriter in the political risk market and has written policies covering risks in 55 emerging market countries.
Daniel Riordan, Vice President and Managing Director of the Political Risk group at Zurich U.S., said, "This capital markets insurance product is a natural extension of our political risk insurance product for lenders and is based upon our experience working closely with financial institutions active in the emerging markets. We expanded our political risk insurance to cover fixed income securities in response to the accelerated growth of emerging market bond issues, particularly in Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe, where financing is often difficult to obtain. Such coverage should help bond issuers gain access to private capital while helping create enhanced opportunities for institutional investors."
Zurich U.S. is a leading commercial property and casualty insurance company serving the multinational, middle market and small business sectors in the U.S. Zurich U.S. is a member of the Zurich Financial Services Group, a global leader in the financial services industry.
Providing its customers with solutions in the area of financial protection and asset accumulation, the Zurich Financial Services Group concentrates its activities in four core businesses: non-life and life insurance, reinsurance and asset management. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, the Group’s worldwide presence builds on strong positions in its three home markets -- the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. It has offices in more than 60 countries reaching over 33 million customers and employing 68,000 employees.
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Media Contact:
Patricia Schnably
Vice President, Corporate Marketing Communications
Zurich U.S.
(410) 338-2755 (Baltimore)
(847) 605-6372 (Schaumburg)
pat.schnably@zurichna.com
Joanne Lessner
Miller DeMartine Group
(212) 222-7436
jlessner@mdgpr.com
