HANNOVER, GERMANY (Reuters) — Hannover Re has sold 100 million euros ($136.86 million) of cat bond notes to investors that will cover the world's fourth-largest reinsurer against extreme losses from European windstorms, investors said on Friday.The transaction, the third to be launched via Hannover Re's Bermuda-based Eurus special purpose vehicle, uses data from PERILS industry loss index trigger, which allows Hannover Re to receive payments on the occurrence of a qualifying windstorm event in eleven countries in Western Europe.Loss estimates by PERILS have been used as the index base in all the main forms of industry loss-based insurance risk transactions — and transactions using PERILS to securitise European windstorm risk has increased 40 percent to $3.5 billion in the year to Sept 1.Issuance of catastrophe bonds, in which insurers transfer risks associated with natural disasters to capital markets investors, is likely to match the 2007 record and reach $6-7 billion by the end of the year, say investors, over half of which has already been placed.The 100 million euro deal, rated BB- by credit rating agency Standard & Poor's, has provided Hannover Re three-year coverage against losses arising from severe windstorms in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.Investors said the collateral for the new Eurus III transaction will be invested in notes issued by the EBRD, with an interest spread of 375 basis points.The deal was structured by Aon Banfield Securities, which is joint lead alongside BNP Paribas.Current issuance stands at $4.4 billion.