Fitch Team To Rate Securitization Deals

Fitch expects most of the growth in volume to come on the life side, as a result of insurers’ need for relief from Regulation Triple-X surplus requirements in the United States and general increases in life surplus requirements in Europe.

The new Fitch insurance-linked securities group will evaluate contracts securitized to provide statutory relief from Regulation Triple-X, life insurance securitizations and catastrophic mortality securities, but it will not evaluate life settlements, Thorpe says.

Catastrophic mortality securities include arrangements that protect insurers against the risk of incidents causing catastrophic loss of human life, such as a bird flu pandemic, Thorpe says.

The ILS group uses the existing ratings structure to assign securities grades ranging from D to AAA, Thorpe says.