Artex SAC Limited – Bricolage Notes

This is a new privately arranged and placed catastrophe bond, a so-called cat bond lite or private issuance of insurance-linked securities (ILS), that has used Artex Risk Solutions segregated account company, Artex SAC Limited.

The Artex SAC Limited vehicle is based in Bermuda and facilitates private cat bond transactions, acting as a transformer for the risks and a securitization vehicle to issue notes that can be sold and placed with either individual or groups of investors, depending on whether a transaction is syndicated or bilateral in nature.

This Bricolage private catastrophe bond issuance has been completed and listed in Bermuda using the vehicle’s Artex SAC Limited ILS Note Program II.

The transaction saw Artex SAC Limited acting for the Segregated Account named “Bricolage” to issue one tranche of notes that have been placed with qualified institutional investors or insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds.

Sometimes these private placement cat bond deals can be bilateral, between a ceding company and single investor. But being $250 million in size it would make sense for the deal to have been privately placed with a group or club of investors and funds.

Artex SAC Limited has issued a $100 million tranche of principal-at-risk Bricolage notes..

The notes, which have been admitted to listing on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX), all have maturity due at May 19th 2025, suggesting they could cover three US wind seasons perhaps, or a three years for another peril.

As ever, we make the assumption that a private cat bond or ILS issuance like this features notes linked to certain property catastrophe risks, most likely representing a securitisation of either an indemnity or industry loss triggered collateralised reinsurance or retrocession transaction.

If any more details emerge we will update you.