Catastrophe bond market keeps record pace after above-average Q3: Report

Catastrophe bond issuance was above-average at $948 million for the third-quarter of the year which has served to keep the market on pace to set new records, with total nine-month 2026 issuance reaching a new $18.9 billion high of risk capital analysed and tracked by Artemis, our latest quarterly catastrophe bond market report shows.

The Artemis Q3 2026 Catastrophe Bond Market Report, available to download now, examines cat bond and related insurance-linked securities (ILS) risk capital issued in the third-quarter of the year, key trends from the period and reviews nine month cat bond market activity.

The Artemis Q3 2026 catastrophe bond and related insurance-linked securities (ILS) market report dissects an above-average $948 million issuance period for the sector following on from the record first-half.

The report also analyses catastrophe bond issuance for the first nine-months of the year, which set a new record of $18.9 billion.

This quarter’s $948 million of new issuance came from 10 transactions comprised of 15 tranches of notes. Repeat sponsors dominated issuance in terms of volume, driven by the two largest deals of the quarter from global reinsurers Swiss Re and Hannover Re.

However, US insurer Porch Group entered the market for the first time in Q3, and Bermuda-based Nectaris Re sponsored its first cat bond as well, taking the number of new sponsors entering the market so far this year to 14.

In the third-quarter of 2026, we analysed and tracked $845.5 million of rule 144A and 144A eligible property cat bonds which dominated Q3 2026 issuance, accounting for more than 89% of the quarterly total, with the remaining $102.4 million, or 11%, being privately placed, or cat bond lite transactions.

Although Q3 2026 itself failed to break any cat bond market records, it has helped to set new records for the first nine months of the year, notably total issuance, which stands at $18.9 billion at the end of September, up from last year’s previous record of $18.6 billion, meaning the market is still on track for another record year. 9M rule 144A property cat bond and total rule 144A issuance have also hit new heights in 2026.

In this report, we analyse and compare year-on-year, quarterly and nine-month 2026 issuance by peril and trigger, explore pricing dynamics and the size of deals, upcoming maturities, and trends between rule 144A property cat bonds, private deals, and those covering non-cat risks.

Despite being an above-average quarter, the size of the outstanding cat bond market is now slightly smaller than it was at the end of Q2, at $65.5 billion, but has still grown by 7% from the end of 2025, making it the second-largest outstanding market size at the end of any quarter.

As we look to the final quarter of 2026, while the run-rate towards a new annual record remains intact it still requires a strong final quarter of cat bond issuance to achieve it.

Last year, cat bond issuance surpassed $20 billion for the first time, setting a record of $25.6 billion. In Q4 2026, just $1.1 billion is needed to exceed $20 billion for a second consecutive year.

However, given the maturity load of around $2.5 billion for the coming quarter, by Artemis’ data $6.7 billion of issuance would be needed to set a new annual record. Q4 issuance has averaged $3.2 billion over the past decade, with Q4 2025’s $7 billion the record.

So, while $20 billion is almost certain to be reached again, a new annual record still requires us to see the second-largest fourth-quarter in the catastrophe bond market’s history.

In our brand new report we break down numerous metrics of third-quarter and nine-month 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 Q3 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 the rest of 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 third-quarter 2026 cat bond and related ILS issuance, including a breakdown of deal flow by features 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’ Q3 2026 Cat Bond & ILS Market Report here.

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