Eighth Herbie Re cat bond delivers substantial capital efficiency, broad coverage: CUO Houston

With Fidelis Insurance Group having recently settled its eighth Herbie Re catastrophe bond issuance, Ian Houston, Chief Underwriting Officer explained that the transaction delivers “substantial capital efficiency” and provides broad protection to The Fidelis Partnership MGU businesses as well.

We’ve been covering details and developments in Fidelis’ eighth sponsorship of a catastrophe bond since the end of December, when we were first to reveal the existence of the Herbie Re Ltd. (Series 2026-1) transaction.

At the time of its launch at the end of that month, the Fidelis Insurance Group had an initial target to secure $75 million of broad retrocessional reinsurance protection from the deal.

We reported last week that the Herbie Re 2026-1 cat bond notes had been priced to pay investors a spread within the lower-half of the initial guidance range, securing the $75 million of protection for the Fidelis underwriting portfolio and related entities.

Issuance of the latest Herbie Re cat bond settled yesterday and Fidelis Insurance commented on its eighth successful venture into the catastrophe bond market.

Find information on all of Fidelis’ Herbie Re catastrophe bonds in our Deal Directory, by filtering the list by sponsor.

The company explained that its Fidelis Insurance Bermuda Limited unit successfully priced the $75 million of Herbie Re Series 2026-1 cat bond notes to provide the targeted $75 million of annual aggregate, industry-loss triggered collateralized retro reinsurance protection, covering losses from earthquakes that affect the United States and District of Columbia over an almost four year term.

As ceding entity to the transaction, Fidelis Insurance Bermuda also cascades that coverage through to other underwriting entities associated with the group.

Ian Houston, Fidelis Insurance Group Chief Underwriting Officer, commented on the transaction and why the company finds cat bonds a compelling addition to its protection.

Houston said, “Building on the success of our Herbie Re Catastrophe Bond program, we are pleased to announce the latest issuance for Fidelis Insurance Group.

“Catastrophe bonds remain a crucial element of our comprehensive capital management and external protection framework, delivering substantial capital efficiency and robust protection against severe events.”

He went on to explain that the Herbie Re cat bond provides broad protection to the Fidelis access points to risk.

“This new issuance extends coverage across our entire portfolio, including business written through The Fidelis Partnership and New Underwriting Partnerships, further strengthening our reinsurance protections, which also includes quota share agreements, excess of loss treaties, and industry loss warranties,” Houston explained.

Efficiency of risk capital and broad protection, precisely why so many sponsors are turning to the catastrophe bond market in recent years.

For underwriting specialists like Fidelis, bringing the full-range of structures and capital sources into its retro program is compelling, as it can deliver greater certainty on its underwriting results in the event of peak catastrophe peril loss events.

Across the Fidelis sponsored Herbie Re catastrophe bonds the company currently has $770 million of retrocessional reinsurance protection in-force, according to the Artemis Catastrophe Bond Sponsor Leaderboard.

Fidelis’ cat bonds have different use-cases, with some US and single peril focused, like this Series 2026-1 issuance, but others providing much broader coverage for many peak peril regions around the world. Find details of every Fidelis sponsored cat bond in our Deal Directory.

Read all about this Herbie Re Ltd. (Series 2026-1)  catastrophe bond and almost every other cat bond deal ever issued in the Artemis Deal Directory.