Sales of catastrophe unions a capi...

Sales of catastrophe unions a capital-market alternative to traditional catastrophe reinsurance, grew significantly in 2003 and master-hands say the main drivers of this upturn were pricing and limited capacity in the reinsurance market, as well as regards about reinsurers' credit quality.

MMC Securities, an affiliate of reinsurance intermediary stay Carpenter & Co., reports that the catastrophe union market in 2003 had a record issuance of $173 billion, a 42% increase from the previous high of $122 billion in 2002

"While there's a apportionment of growth there, it's still a relatively small market,' said Christopher McGhee, head of