The Hanover raises target 50% to $150m for its fourth Commonwealth Re cat bond

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. has raised the target size for its fourth catastrophe bond sponsorship by 50%, with now up $150 million of US-wide multi-peril reinsurance protection being sought from the Commonwealth Re Ltd. (Series 2026-1) transaction, Artemis has learned.

The Hanover returned to the cat bond market around the middle of May with an initial target to secure at least $100 million of fully-collateralized catastrophe reinsurance from its fourth visit to the catastrophe bond market.

Previously, The Hanover secured fully-collateralized named storm reinsurance across just US northeast states with its first two cat bonds in 2022 and 2023.

The insurer then returned in 2025 and secured its first multi-peril reinsurance from the cat bond market, with the $200 million Commonwealth Re 2025-1 deal.

In 2026, The Hanover’s focus on securing multi-peril, US wide reinsurance from the cat bond market continues and now we’re told the company is looking to upsize this Commonwealth Re Series 2026-1 offering to fill the full reinsurance layer and upsize it by 50% to provide $150 million of protection.

At the same time and like most other cat bonds coming to market over recent months, the price guidance has been lowered as The Hanover targets strong price execution in the market, we understand.

You can read about all of The Hanover’s catastrophe bonds by filtering our Deal Directory by sponsor.

Commonwealth Re Ltd. is now targeting issuance of a single $150 million tranche of Series 2026-1 Class A notes that will provide reinsurance to The Hanover and subsidiary companies, covering the perils of US named storm, earthquake, severe thunderstorm, winter storm and wildfire, on an indemnity trigger and per-occurrence basis across three years from July 1st through to the end of June 2029.

The Series 2026-1 Class A notes that Commonwealth Re is offering to investors have increased in size from their initial $100 million to now $150 million, sources said.

The Class A notes will have an initial base expected loss of 1.18% and were first offered to investors with price guidance for a spread of between 3.25% and 3.75%. We’re now told that price guidance has been lowered to a revised range of between 3% and 3.25%.

If this new Series 2026-1 cat bond offering is successfully upsized to fill the full $150 million layer of the insurer’s reinsurance tower, it will mean The Hanover has $450 million of cat bond reinsurance attaching excess of $1.1 billion of losses on a per-occurrence basis, we understand.

You can read all about this Commonwealth Re Ltd. (Series 2026-1) catastrophe bond from The Hanover and every cat bond transaction ever issued in the extensive Artemis Deal Directory.