OPL TO BUY RELIANCE RE

Bermuda-based Overseas Partners Ltd. (OPL) has agreed to acquire Reliance Reinsurance Company from Reliance Insurance Co., but will not assume the existing liabilities of either company. The amount paid by OPL hasn’t been revealed, but the main asset it has acquired is the staff of 50 professionals located in Philadelphia, who are the current managers and underwriters of Reliance Re. The addition gives OPL a reinsurance management facility in the U.S. which is larger than its current operation in Bermuda, and the authority, subject to regulatory approvals, “to write reinsurance in all 50 states and Washington D.C., as well as insurance in over 40 states,” according to the announcement. OPL is well-positioned and well-capitalized with total assets of $5 billion.