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Cadwalader has "been instrumental in developing alternative insurance products. . ." - Legal 500
The convergence of capital markets and insurance has created a need for legal advisors who can bridge these worlds. By bringing together practitioners with experience in insurance and reinsurance, capital markets, finance and tax, Cadwalader provides clients with a sophisticated approach to issues relating to risk-linked securities, including catastrophe bonds, sidecars, reinsurance and longevity products.
Cadwalader attorneys have been involved in many of the most high-profile and innovative capital markets transactions in both the primary and secondary markets for insurance and reinsurance companies of all types. We represent insurers, reinsurers, investment banks, hedge funds, private equity funds, underwriters, credit enhancers, selling shareholders, and their financial advisors in a broad array of securities transactions, including IPOs, privatizations, demutualizations, spin-offs, stock exchange listings, debt offerings, securitizations, preferred securities, and surplus notes offerings.
Our industry-leading securitization and tax attorneys have been at the forefront of developing transactions and products tailored to the insurance and reinsurance industry, including "alternative insurance products" such as premium finance loans, life/annuity arbitrage securitizations, catastrophe bonds, industry loss warrants, sidecars, synthetic securitizations, and securitization of Triple X reserves and other assets. We have, among other things, developed products that help insurance companies disintermediate their risks, and improve their asset and liability management within the confines of insurance regulation. Our attorneys also structure insurance policies and reinsurance contracts to embed capital markets components.
Cadwalader is also involved in the emerging areas of contingent capital transactions, which permit access to risk capital pursuant to an options contract only if a "covered" event transpires and the securitization of life insurance policies, which transfer mortality risk to the capital markets. Increasingly, life insurers are looking for solutions to monetize value-in-force, or VIF, in their life business. Although a transaction template is beginning to emerge in the market for life securitizations, each transaction remains unique and experienced counsel input is vital. Given our expertise, Cadwalader is well-positioned in advising on innovative customizations in this developing area. We also advise our clients on issues relating to ISDA reform for longevity risk, life settlement structures with U.S. life settlement portfolios, and structured settlement portfolios for European note programs.
Products: We also work with insurance companies to develop innovative customized products for sale to pension plans and other institutional investors, and advise on tax-advantaged insurance and insurance-related financial investments. Cadwalader is at the forefront of developing innovative capital markets instruments on behalf of property and casualty insurers that have municipal bond holdings and tax loss or alternative minimum tax positions. In addition, we work with insurance companies to develop capital markets instruments to finance large municipal bond portfolios on a leveraged tax-exempt basis. Cadwalader's preeminent real estate finance lawyers, together with our capital markets lawyers, have long represented major insurers, particularly in connection with the origination, negotiation, and securitization of large commercial real estate loans.
