Catalina Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd has agreed to acquire a $2 billion run-off portfolio of employers’ liability policies from Zurich Insurance.

The Bermudian-based run-off specialist was boosted by a $700 million capital raise in October that increased its resources for acquisitions.

The portfolio being transferred to Catalina includes the majority of Zurich’s UK employers’ liability policies for 2006 and prior underwriting years.

The first stage of the transaction will involve a reinsurance of relevant policies from Zurich to Catalina General Insurance Ltd, Catalina’s Bermudian reinsurance subsidiary.

The second stage involves an Irish section 13 insurance business transfer of liabilities to Catalina London Ltd.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and the approval of the High Court in Ireland for the insurance business transfer.

Total assets of Catalina pro forma for this transaction will be $6 billion.

Chris Fagan, chairman and chief executive of Catalina, said: “This transaction with Zurich demonstrates our ability to execute on larger and complex transactions.

“Our substantially increased financial firepower gives us scope to provide finality solutions to a range of much larger legacy market opportunities as the sector develops into a more accepted and useful part of the insurance market.

“Our track record and significant financial resources combined with our capital-efficient, low-cost operating platforms positions us to provide compelling value solutions to businesses looking to transfer legacy insurance portfolios.”

Neil Freshwater, CEO of Zurich Legacy Solutions added: “The sale of this legacy portfolio reflects Zurich’s strategy to simplify our business, manage risk and focus on ongoing operations.

“For this substantial portfolio, it was important for us to find someone who would have the experience, expertise and capacity to maintain the management focus and service standards to our customers and claimants. To that end, we are delighted to be working again with Catalina.”

Catalina was established in 2005 to focus solely on the acquisition and management of non-life insurance and reinsurance companies in run-off.

Since its foundation, Catalina has acquired or reinsured over $7.5 billion of non-life insurance and reinsurance liabilities across 28 transactions.

Catalina has offices in Bermuda, Denver, Dublin, Hartford, London, New York and Pfaffikon, Switzerland, and has about 180 employees.