Eclipse Re Ltd. (Series 2019-05A)

This is the third and largest at $100 million listed private insurance-linked securities (ILS) issuance through the Eclipse Re Ltd. collateralized reinsurance note platform of 2019.

In this latest and its largest transaction, Eclipse Re Ltd. has issued a single $100 million tranche of private catastrophe bond notes, which have been sold to investors or ILS funds and the proceeds used as the collateral to underpin linked reinsurance or retrocession contracts.

The $100 million Eclipse Re Ltd. (Series 2019-05A) transaction saw special purpose Bermudian insurer Eclipse Re Ltd. issuing one tranche of Series 2019-05A notes from its segregated account SAC EC0023, with the notes having a due date of June 1st 2020.

We assume these notes represent a one-year reinsurance or retrocession contract underwritten at the mid-year renewals, possibly featuring Florida wind risk given the contracts were likely in-force as of the June renewal.

The tranche of notes have been admitted for listing on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) as insurance related securities.

Horseshoe Group acted as the listing sponsor for the notes, through its Horseshoe Corporate Services Limited entity.

Further details are not available on the underlying risks and reinsurance contract behind this latest private cat bond deal, however we assume that the transaction underlying it features property catastrophe risks of some description, likely U.S. given the timing.