Genesee Street Re Ltd. (Series 2025-1)

This is a debut catastrophe bond for Utica National Insurance Group, a US top-100 personal and commercial lines insurer, with the company seeking $125 million or more in multi-peril US catastrophe reinsurance protection from the capital markets through this Genesee Street Re cat bond transaction.

Genesee Street Re Ltd. has been formed in Bermuda to be the issuer for the first Utica National catastrophe bond.

Genesee Street Re will offer a single tranche of Series 2025-1 Class A notes for sale to investors, with the proceeds set to collateralize a reinsurance agreement to benefit Utica National’s underwriting entities.

We’re told this Genesee Street Re cat bond will provide reinsurance to protect all of the member companies, which are: Founders Insurance Company; Founders Insurance Company of Michigan; Graphic Arts Mutual Insurance Company; Republic-Franklin Insurance Company; Utica Lloyd’s of Texas; Utica Mutual Insurance Company; Utica National Assurance Company; Utica National Insurance Company of Ohio; Utica National Insurance Company of Texas; Utica Specialty Risk Insurance Company.

The $125 million of Genesee Street Re 2025-1 catastrophe bond notes will protect these companies with fully-collateralized reinsurance against losses from the perils of named storms and severe thunderstorms.

We understand that protection will be on an indemnity trigger and per-occurrence basis, running across an almost three-year term to the end of March 2028.

The covered area is much of the US eastern states, extending from the northeast down to Georgia, with coverage for losses in Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The currently $125 million of Series 2025-1 Class A notes that Gensesee Street Re Ltd. is set to issue would attach their coverage at $700 million of losses, covering a share up to $1 billion, which we understand is towards the upper-layer of Utica National’s reinsurance tower.

The notes will come with an initial attachment probability of 0.77%, an initial expected loss of 0.61% and are being offered to cat bond investors with price guidance in a range from 3% to 3.5%.

Update 1:

We’re told that Utica National’s target for its debut catastrophe bond issuance has been increased to between $135 million and as much as $150 million.

At the same time, the price guidance has been lowered and narrowed, to an updated 3% to 3.25%.

Update 2:

Utica National secured the 21% upsized upper-target for $150 million of reinsurance from its debut Genesee Street Re catastrophe bond issuance, we understand.

The pricing of the Genesee Street Re 2025-1 catastrophe bond notes was finalised to pay investors a spread of 3.25%, so at the mid-point of the initial guidance range.