Eclipse Re Ltd. (Series 2020-03A)

This is the third private catastrophe bond transaction, or cat bond lite deal, to be issued for an unknown sponsor by the Horseshoe managed Eclipse Re Ltd. special purpose vehicle in 2020.

The $16.59 million Series 2020-03A issuance from Eclipse Re, which appears to be a private cat bond or securitisation of a collateralised reinsurance arrangement that runs across a roughly one-year term and represents the vehicles segregated account EC0028, with maturity scheduled for June 1st 2021.

It’s likely this first deal was issued around the June reinsurance renewal, which suggests the underlying risks could be Florida wind based, although we cannot be certain so categorise this as an unknown property catastrophe risks arrangement.

The notes issued have been placed with qualified investors and admitted to the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) as insurance-related securities.

The proceeds from the sale of these notes will have been used as collateral to underpin related reinsurance or retrocession contracts.

Eclipse Re provides an issuance platform for the market where insurance-linked securities (ILS) funds or investors can engage in reinsurance and retrocession contracts more directly with ceding companies, but still benefit from a risk transfer arrangement that is transformed and securitized into private cat bond form.

Leading ILS and reinsurance market service provider and facilitator Horseshoe takes the lead as manager for these Eclipse Re transactions, given it operates the special purpose vehicle as part of its offering to clients.