Launch of Juniperus Capital Limited

RNS Number : 2451V
Benfield Group Limited
27 May 2008

27 May 2008

BENFIELD GROUP LIMITED
Launch of Juniperus Capital Limited

Benfield Group Limited ("Benfield" or "the Group"), the world's leading independent reinsurance and risk intermediary, today announces
that it has made a cash investment of US$50 million into Juniperus Insurance Opportunity Fund ("the Fund") which will be managed by
Juniperus Capital Limited ("JCL"). Benfield holds a significant shareholding in JCL having acquired shares at nominal value by way of a
US$6,588 investment. Benfield has also committed to provide up to US$2 million in working capital to JCL. Other substantial investors in the
Fund include Transatlantic Re and JCL management.

JCL, which launched today, is a new investment management company that will manage third party funds focused on the collateralized
reinsurance and Insurance Linked Securities ("ILS") markets.

Grahame Chilton, Chief Executive of Benfield, commented, "Benfield is at the forefront of the converging reinsurance and capital
markets. In addition to advising on the formation of new risk taking entities such as JCL and its affiliates, Benfield Advisory ("BA"), our
specialist corporate finance and advisory business, advises on insurance and reinsurance M&A and provides cedants with direct access to
hedge funds, pension funds, banks and other non-traditional investors. BA has advised on many start up insurance and reinsurance companies
including Lancashire Insurance, Montpelier Re and other vehicles, and has also advised on the placing of billions of dollars of catastrophe
risk in the capital markets in recent years, either through the formation of broadly syndicated risk transfer vehicles such as Starbound I
and Starbound II or directly with capital markets investors. Our investment in this Fund is a logical next step in this expanding
marketplace and I am delighted at our involvement in this initiative."

Rob Bredahl, Global Head of BA, commented, "The convergence of the (re)insurance and capital markets is being driven by (re)insurance
companies seeking to access different forms of capital and innovative risk transfer techniques and investors increasingly attracted to the
high yielding, non-correlated nature of catastrophe-type risk. Consequently, the market for ILS, the term given to the form of insurance
risk distributed to capital market investors, has grown significantly in recent years. Benfield expects this growth to continue going
forward, with ILS becoming an increasingly important market over time."

JCL will be managed by Philip A. Lotz as Executive Chairman and Michael Cash as Chief Executive Officer. Philip A Lotz has over 27
years' experience managing trading and client driven business across major asset classes for large international financial institutions. He
was formerly the Chief Executive Officer of Swiss Re Capital Management and Advisory ("CMA"). Prior to heading CMA, Mr. Lotz was a
Co-Founder and Co-Chief Operating Officer of Swiss Re Financial Products. Prior to Swiss Re, Mr. Lotz spent 16 years with Greenwich Capital
Markets. Mr. Lotz received a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School.

Michael Cash, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Underwriting Officer, has over 17 years' experience in the reinsurance industry,
including experience with structured reinsurance. He joined Renaissance Re in 2000, resigning in July 2005 as Senior Vice President,
Specialty Reinsurance. Mr. Cash served as a Principal at Stockton Reinsurance Ltd. from 1998 until joining Renaissance Re. Prior to
Stockton, he worked for Centre Reinsurance in Bermuda starting in April 1992. Mr. Cash is an Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society.

-ENDS-
Contacts:
Analysts & Investors
Julianne Jessup Benfield +44 (0) 20 7578 7425
Rob Bailhache Financial Dynamics +44 (0) 20 7269 7200
Media
David Bogg Benfield +44 (0) 20 7522 4016
Peter Rigby/David Haggie Haggie Financial +44 (0) 20 7417 8989

Benfield is the world's leading independent reinsurance and risk intermediary. Its customers include many of the world's major insurance
and reinsurance companies as well as government entities and global corporations. Benfield operates from more than 50 locations worldwide
and is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BFD. www.benfieldgroup.com.

This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

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