$75m Woody Re 2026-1 cat bond priced for Fidelis Partnership Syndicate 3123

The Fidelis Partnership linked Syndicate 3123 at Lloyd’s is set to benefit from its first catastrophe bond protection, as the Arthur Re Ltd. – Woody Re 2026-1 issuance has now been successfully priced to secure the targeted $75 million of reinsurance coverage at the low-end of guidance, Artemis has learned.

This Woody Re 2026-1 catastrophe bond was initially launched to investors earlier in June and is being issued by Gallagher Re’s new Arthur Re Ltd. platform, which specialises in industry index deals and aims to make their issuance more cost effective and efficient.

As we explained, it will be the first catastrophe bond that will provide reinsurance protection to Syndicate 3123, the Lloyd’s structure launched in 2024 by the Fidelis Partnership in collaboration with capacity partner Pelagos Insurance Capital (formerly Fidelis Insurance).

In our first update on this offering we reported, that the target size of the issuance remained unchanged at $75 million, but that the risk interest spread guidance had been lowered to the bottom end of the initial range.

Now, we understand the notes have been priced and the coverage therefore secured for the Fidelis Partnership syndicate, with the spread finalised at the low-end of initial price guidance, indicating attractive execution for the beneficiary.

The now priced $75 million of Woody Re 2026-1 Class A cat bond notes are designed to provide the Fidelis Partnership linked Syndicate 3123 at Lloyd’s with a source of catastrophe reinsurance against losses from named storms, earthquakes, severe thunderstorms, winter storms and wildfire events in part of North America.

The coverage is structured on an annual aggregate, industry loss index trigger basis and will run across a three year term to the end of June 2029. Full details of the coverage can be found in the Deal Directory entry.

The $75 million of Woody Re 2026-1 Class A notes come with an initial expected loss of 3.88% and were first offered to investors with price guidance for an initial risk interest spread of between 8.25% and 9%.

The price guidance was later lowered to the bottom-end of that range, at 8.25%, which is where the initial risk interest spread has now been priced, reflecting strong execution for the first catastrophe bond to benefit the Fidelis Partnership syndicate.

The Arthur Re platform owned by Gallagher Re has now brought three catastrophe bonds to market in quick succession, all featuring brand new sponsors to the cat bond market. This is encouraging, as it shows a platform that appears to be gaining traction relatively quickly, which suggests we may see continued deal-flow and a chance that some industry-loss warranty (ILW) buyers now shift to efficient cat bond issuance instead.

You can read all about this new Arthur Re Ltd. – Woody Re 2026-1 catastrophe bond and every other cat bond transaction in the Artemis Deal Directory.