One Alliance North America: Debut cat bond supports ability to protect policyholders

One Alliance North America Insurance Company, the US homeowners and commercial lines specialist underwriter and carrier that recently priced and secured a debut $115 million One Shield Re Ltd. (Series 2026-1) catastrophe bond, has said the upsized transaction supports its ability to protect policyholders and communities.

One Alliance North America ventured into the catastrophe bond market to sponsor its first deal in mid-March, with an initial target to secure $100 million or more in multi-peril reinsurance.

It marked the insurers first attempt to lock-in multi-year and fully-collateralized protection in 144A cat bond form.

The offering was well-received, with the insurer first expanding its ambitions with an updated size target for between $100 million and as much as $125 million of reinsurance from the cat bond.

Eventually, the One Shield Re Series 2026-1 catastrophe bond notes were priced to provide the insurer a 15% upsized $115 million of reinsurance limit, while the risk interest spread was finalised within the upper-half of the initial price guidance range.

Now, the company has explained the value it places on its first venture to the catastrophe bond market, importantly highlighting how the reinsurance it provides enhances One Alliance North America’s to service its customers and keep them robustly protected.

The first One Shield Re cat bond provides One Alliance North America with a $115 million three-year source of named storm and wildfire reinsurance, on an indemnity trigger and per-occurrence basis, running from issuance through to April 2029.

The named storm reinsurance is for the states of Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, while the fire protection is solely for the state of California.

The insurer said its debut cat bond broadens its sources of reinsurance capacity by establishing “a long-term platform for accessing capital markets-backed collateralized reinsurance.”

“This strengthens the company’s ability to deliver long-term financial protection and provide peace of mind to the policyholders and communities it serves,” the company further stated.

One Alliance North America noted that the cat bond “introduced a new peril and regional mix to the 144A catastrophe bond market within a single transaction.”

Miguel Barrales, President of One Alliance North America, stated, “This month marks a special milestone for One Alliance North America as we celebrate our 22nd anniversary since launching operations in Florida – a journey that has taken us from a single-state carrier to a strong, multi-regional insurance company.

“As we continue to grow our portfolio, keeping our policyholders and insurance agency partners at the forefront of everything we do, we are proud to make our debut in the capital markets with our first-ever catastrophe bond.

“This transaction expands our access to multiyear reinsurance capacity in an efficient, affordable, and scalable way, supporting our ability to offer consistent, long-term protection to those who rely on us.”

At their core, catastrophe bonds serve an increasingly important role as a provider of risk capital to the insurance and reinsurance industry.

But it’s often easy to overlook the fact that the ultimate beneficiaries of these transactions are really the policyholders and the communities they live in, as cat bonds make the financial arrangements of their re/insurers increasingly robust and protected against major disasters.

Lockton Re Capital Markets acted as the Sole Structuring Agent and Sole Bookrunner for the transaction.

Notably, this was the first catastrophe bond offering we have seen where Lockton Re Capital Markets has served in both of those roles, a milestone for its ambitions as a cat bond broker-dealer.

“It was a privilege to partner with One Alliance North America on their inaugural catastrophe bond,” explained Zach Breslin, Head of Lockton Re Capital Markets. “Their ability to clearly communicate their underwriting strategy and performance was key to driving a successful debut transaction, as well as the establishment of One Shield Re as an additional, scalable source of capital going forward. We’re proud to have supported their entry into the 144A market.”

You can read all about this One Shield Re Ltd. (Series 2026-1) cat bond and every other catastrophe bond deal ever issued in our Artemis Deal Directory.