Cat bond market shows high bars are set to be broken, as records fall again in H1 2026: Report

Catastrophe bond market momentum accelerated through the second-quarter of 2026 and has broken many records, with more than $11.3 billion of new risk capital analysed and tracked in the period, making Q2 2026 the biggest single quarter in the history of the cat bond market and driving H1 to set another high bar, Artemis’ new quarterly catastrophe bond market report shows.

The Artemis Q2 2026 Catastrophe Bond and related insurance-linked securities (ILS) Market Report, available to download now, examines the cat bond and related ILS risk capital issued in the record second-quarter and key trends from the period, plus a review of the first-half.

The Artemis Q2 2026 catastrophe bond and related insurance-linked securities (ILS) market report examines a period that has set a new high bar for issuance. Q2 becomes the biggest quarterly volume of new cat bonds in the market’s history, as a record 48 transactions comprised of 80 tranches of notes brought a significant $11.3 billion of new risk capital to market.

After a full-year issuance record was set in 2025, the first-half of 2026 has now set the bar higher still, breaking last year’s H1 records and putting the cat bond market well on-track to eclipse that annual issuance total if the momentum persists in H2.

Q2 2026 now sets the bar for the largest single quarter of cat bond issuance ever, while H1 2026 also sets the bar for first-half cat bond new issue volumes, according to the Artemis Deal Directory.

Remember, all of our interactive catastrophe bond market charts are always kept up-to-date as every new cat bond issuance settles. So you can track the market in real-time with Artemis, the only place with such depth of data available and aligned with the market as it moves through every quarter and year.

The second quarter of 2026 is the largest ever for cat bond issuance. It’s the first time quarterly issuance has surpassed $11 billion, beating the previous record set in H1 2025 by over $842 million. A new quarterly issuance record of $11.3 billion has also been set for 144A property cat and total 144A issuance. Q2 2026 also featured the largest month of cat bond issuance since we began tracking the sector, as the record 20 deals completed in May brought almost $7 billion of risk capital to market.

The huge level of issuance followed the second-busiest Q1 in the market’s history, and combined, H1 2026 issuance has hit a new high of almost $18 billion, up on last year’s previous record of $17.6 billion. 2026 is already the second-largest year for issuance ever, behind only 2025’s record $25.6 billion. H1 2026 has also set issuance records for 144A property cat and total 144A issuance at $17.3 billion and $17.7 billion, respectively. Both of these figures are above full-year issuance for every year since the market’s inception except 2025.

At the end of 2025, the outstanding cat bond market size was a then record $61.3 billion, but this was beaten in Q1 as a strong quarter ensured market growth to $63.9 billion. The trend persisted in Q2 despite a particularly high $9.6 billion of maturities, which included some early redemptions, as the outstanding market hit $65.6 billion at the end of June, a new end-of-quarter high.

The majority of Q2 issuance came from repeat sponsors, although nine new sponsors did enter the market, which is another quarterly record.

As of the end of the second-quarter, catastrophe bond issuance remains about $7.7 billion below last year’s full-year record. 2026 will require an above-average H2 to set a new full-year issuance record, but given the momentum and seemingly unstoppable investor appetite there’s a strong chance we see more records falling and additional new high bars being set.

In our brand new report we break down numerous metrics of quarterly and half-year 2026 cat bond issuance, including triggers, perils, maturities, and pricing dynamics, detailing the strong momentum in the market that persists as well as the continued softening of risk spreads that is being seen.

Download your copy of the new Q2 and H1 2026 Artemis cat bond market report here.

All of our catastrophe bond market charts and visualisations are up-to-date, so include this latest quarter of issuance data.

We will keep you updated on all catastrophe bond and related ILS transaction issuance as we move through 2026, and we’ll report on the evolving trends in the cat bond, insurance-linked securities (ILS) and collateralized reinsurance market.

For full details of second-quarter 2026 cat bond and related ILS issuance and a review of H1, including a breakdown of deal flow by factors such as perils, triggers, expected loss, and pricing, as well as analysis of the issuance trends seen by month and year.

Download your free copy of Artemis’ Q2 and H1 2026 Cat Bond & ILS Market Report here.

For copies of all our catastrophe bond market reports, visit our archive page and download them all.