Premia closes purchase of Cowen Reinsurance from TD Bank

Premia Holdings completed its purchase of Luxembourg property and casualty reinsurer Cowen Reinsurance from TD Bank, closing on Oct. 30 after the Commissariat aux Assurances approved the transaction.

The Bermuda-based legacy specialist acquired Ramius Enterprise Luxembourg Holdco and its subsidiaries in a transaction with TD Bank, and the reinsurer now operates as Premia Reinsurance Europe. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Insurers ceding European property and casualty liabilities gain a Luxembourg-licensed counterparty in Premia Reinsurance Europe, supervised by the Commissariat aux Assurances. The wider group already writes through platforms in Bermuda, the United States, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and the United Kingdom, and includes a managing agent at Lloyd's of London, so a cedent placing business with the renamed entity deals with a carrier inside a group that already runs European risk.

Premia, launched in 2017 as a legacy market specialist, said it has completed more than $5 billion in transactions. It focuses on legacy risks, structured solutions and run-off insurance portfolios, including acquiring and reinsuring property and casualty liabilities.

Group chief executive Bill O'Farrell said the acquisition would strengthen Premia's ability to serve insurers in the region. "This acquisition provides our clients with a local professional reinsurance solution in an important European market," he said.