Bridge Street Re 2025-2 cat bond further enhances QBE’s capital management strategy: Killourhy

QBE Insurance Group’s sponsorship of its largest catastrophe bond sponsorship so far, the $400 million Bridge Street Re Ltd. (Series 2025-2) issuance, is set to diversify the firm’s capital providers while also further enhancing the company’s capital management strategy, according to Chris Killourhy, incoming Group Chief Financial Officer.

As we’ve been reporting, QBE Insurance Group recently secured its latest catastrophe bond, with the Bridge Street Re Series 2025-2 issuance growing from its initial target of $300 million in international peak peril catastrophe reinsurance, to secure the company with $400 million of protection.

This marked QBE’s second cat bond sponsorship of this year following on from a $250 million multi-peril  Bridge Street Re 2025-1 catastrophe bond in January.

This new cat bond issuance provides QBE and certain underwriting subsidiaries of the company, with a $400 million source of collateralized reinsurance against losses caused by named storms and earthquakes in the U.S., as well as earthquakes in Australia and New Zealand on a per-occurrence and indemnity trigger basis, running across a three-year term, from January 1st 2026.

Aon Securities, the specialist investment banking and insurance-linked securities (ILS) broker-dealer unit of the global insurance and reinsurance broker, acted as Sole Structuring Agent and Sole Bookrunner for the transaction, while Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP acted as transaction counsel to QBE.

Peter Burton, QBE Group Chief Underwriting Officer, commented: “This transaction enables QBE to leverage the growing ILS market to complement our traditional reinsurance placement and secure multi-year protection. By using such products, we develop new relationships to meet our overall risk transfer needs for peak peril exposures.”

Chris Killourhy, incoming QBE Group Chief Financial Officer, added: “QBE Insurance Group is thrilled to complete its second issuance under the Bridge Street Re Catastrophe Bond program. This highly successful issuance diversifies our capital providers and further enhances our capital management strategy.”

Jordan Brown, Managing Director, Aon Securities LLC, also commented: “We are proud to have supported QBE on the recent indemnity cat bond issuance. We are pleased to see the ILS community participate in a novel transaction that provides investors with a globally diversified portfolio of well underwritten commercial property insurance risk. The ultimate execution is reflective of QBE’s reputation in the market as a leading commercial and specialty lines insurer, globally.”

You can read all about this new Bridge Street Re Ltd. (Series 2025-2) catastrophe bond transaction and every other cat bond ever issued in our Artemis Deal Directory.