Castlelake, a global alternative investment manager specializing in asset-backed private credit with 17 years of experience investing in, financing and managing aviation assets, announced the creation of a Bermuda-licensed reinsurance company, Itasca Re Limited (Itasca Re), to offer insurance financing solutions to buyers and owners of commercial aircraft assets.

Itasca Re will be led by experienced aviation industry veteran Kostya Zolotusky, who most recently led the Integrated Finance Linked Insurance (IFLI) division of Piiq Risk Partners Ltd. (“Piiq”), an insurance broker focused on the aviation sector associated with The Ardonagh Group. Piiq will provide exclusive brokerage services to Starr and Itasca Re.

“Itasca Re is the latest step Castlelake has taken to strategically innovate and expand the financing solutions it can offer,” Joe McConnell, partner and deputy co-chief investment officer at Castlelake, said. “Itasca Re brings reinsurance support for creative, customizable and cost-efficient insurance-backed products to our airline partners and other buyers and owners of commercial aircraft assets at what we see as a time of high need.”

“With the experience and expertise of the Itasca Re team and partnerships with established market participants, we believe Itasca Re will quickly become a go-to solution provider for global airlines and the broader aviation market,” Armin Rothauser, partner, asset-backed direct lending at Castlelake, said.

Itasca Re’s dedicated focus on aircraft secured financing and its team’s experience is expected to enable more nuanced asset-secured insurance financing solutions than what has been available in the current insurance market.