Benu Capital Limited

Insurer AXA Global Life hailed the completion of its new mortality bond issuance Benu Capital Limited as an innovative transaction providing it with capital markets backed collateralized mortality reinsurance protection, the largest such deal since 2007.

For mortality linked catastrophe bonds, such as AXA Global Life’s €285m Benu Capital Limited deal that has recently completed, uncertainty as well as the potential for unmodelled risk impacts are always a factor.

AXA Global Life’s excess mortality catastrophe bond transaction Benu Capital Limited has upsized, as was expected, to a total size of €285m, as investors showed a greater desire to allocate capital to the higher risk and return layer of mortality risk.

The Benu Capital Limited extreme mortality catastrophe bond, which is being brought to market on behalf of sponsoring insurer AXA Global Life, looks like it may upsize due to investor demand while the pricing indication has moved towards the upper end of guidance.

AXA Global Life is seeking a source of fully-collateralized reinsurance coverage for excess mortality events from a catastrophe bond structure with a newly launched €250m transaction named Benu Capital Limited.