A new player has entered the Bermuda catastrophe retrocessionmarket.

Brit Insurance Holdings PLC has signed contracts for the launchof a specialist Bermuda-based reinsurance company, Norton ReInsurance Limited, to write catastrophe retrocession business.

Using the underwriting expertise of the Brit Insuranceretrocessional team operating from Hamilton, Bermuda, Norton Rewill participate in the current renewal season for treatiesstarting next month.

As a lead investor, the U.K.-based Brit Insurance subscribed$21.1 million, giving it an overall interest of 19.6 percent of theinitial $107.7 million capital. The remainder is owned byinternational institutional investors. HSBC Bank plc acted asadviser and placement agent.

Dane Douetil, chief executive officer of Brit Insurance, said hewas delighted with the high level of demand from investors.

“As 2006 has progressed, terms and conditions and pricing in theretrocession market have strengthened further, and we and ourfellow investors regard this as the optimal time to launch the newcarrier,” he said in a statement.

Norton Re will be the carrier's first investment in an offshoreunderwriting business “and a further significant step in BritInsurance's evolution into a widely diversified insurance group,”he said. “We believe that this innovative structure is attractiveto capital markets and is a potential blueprint that we canconsider for other classes of business with similarcharacteristics.”