Catastrophe bond news

The North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association (NCIUA) has now secured its largest catastrophe bond yet, as the Cape Lookout Re Ltd. (Series 2025-1) issuance has been priced at the almost doubled $600 million issuance size, while pricing of the notes was finalised just below the mid-point of initial guidance, Artemis can report.

With TD Insurance (TDI) successfully sponsoring the first catastrophe bond covering only perils in Canada this year, the debut issuance from the organisation could potentially make cat bonds more attractive to other Canadian insurers in the future, according to analysts at Morningstar DBRS.

Over the twelve months to January 1st 2025, Bermudian global reinsurer and third-party reinsurance capital manager RenaissanceRe added $860 million in third-party assets to its range of joint-venture vehicles and ILS funds, taking overall third-party capital to $7.81 billion.

The government of Hong Kong is budgeting for a further three year extension to its Pilot ILS Grant Scheme, as the Special Administrative Region continues to target bringing catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities (ILS) issuance to its financial market.

The North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association (NCIUA) is set to significantly upsize its latest catastrophe bond, with what was initially a $350 million Cape Lookout Re Ltd. (Series 2025-1) issuance now targeted to provide almost double that in reinsurance, at a $600 million issuance size, Artemis has learned.

According to Twelve Securis, the specialist insurance-linked securities (ILS) manager, the combination of advancements being seen in catastrophe modeling, along with shifting climate patterns, and the ability to generate uncorrelated returns, is making ILS an increasingly attractive investment amid a rapidly changing risk landscape.

The Board of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) met today and one item up for discussion was the setting of the 1-in-100 year probable maximum loss (PML), a critical figure for defining its funding needs for the hurricane season and therefore its purchases of reinsurance and catastrophe bonds for 2025.

Catastrophe bond managers produced “another marquee year of returns” in 2024 and once again experienced a strong 12 months of inflows, according to analysis by Kepler Absolute Hedge, a research and data-led provider of insight into hedge fund strategies.

Security First Insurance Company, a specialist Florida domestic homeowners insurer, has now secured the upsized $250 million target for reinsurance from its new First Coast Re IV Ltd. (Series 2025-1) catastrophe bond issuance, while both tranches of notes priced at the low-end of reduced guidance, Artemis can report.

Direct-to-consumer insurtech company Kin Insurance is looking to upsize its new Hestia Re Ltd. (Series 2025-1) catastrophe bond transaction, with now as much as $300 million of Florida named storm reinsurance being targeted from the deal, we can report.