Catastrophe bond news

The catastrophe bond hard market is over and prices have been softening since late 2023, leaving the market back close to the mean, but perhaps just beginning to dip into what Lane Financial calls soft market territory.

We are told that first-time catastrophe bond sponsor American European Insurance Company has now successfully priced the $125 million of Charles River Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) catastrophe bond notes at roughly 10% below the mid-point of initial spread guidance.

Japanese insurance giant MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings has hailed the innovative structuring behind its new $200 million Tomoni Re Pte Ltd. (Series 2024-1) catastrophe bond, highlighting that it is a first in the world to have a shared limit for wind on an occurrence coverage basis and earthquake on a three-year rolling aggregate coverage basis.

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) has now secured the upsized target of $1.4 billion of collateralized reinsurance from its new Alamo Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) catastrophe bond, as the deal has now priced which confirms it will be the second biggest cat bond ever issued.

In a fresh analysis of the catastrophe bond market, consultancy Lane Financial LLC takes a look at loss expectations and concludes once again that actual cat bond losses are lower than the amount of principal losses risk modelling suggests should have occurred over the market’s history, as a result of which the market has outperformed.

Florida Peninsula Insurance Company has now finalised details for its debut and upsized $150 million named storm reinsurance catastrophe bond deal, Palm Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1), with the notes pricing at a level almost 11% below the mid-point of initial guidance.

Target allocation ranges have been adjusted for some of the investments that make up the giant insurance-linked securities (ILS) portfolio managed by PGGM, the Dutch pension fund investment manager, on behalf of its end-client the Dutch pension PFZW.

The Government of Jamaica has returned to the catastrophe bond market as anticipated, with an initial target to secure at least $150 million in parametric named storm disaster insurance protection from the capital markets through this IBRD CAR Jamaica 2024 cat bond, to cover the country over four hurricane seasons.

American European Insurance Company is now aiming to reduce the pricing further for its first catastrophe bond deal, with the guidance on the $125 million of Charles River Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) catastrophe bond notes lowered for a second time.

The global reinsurance arm of insurance intermediary group Howden is set to drop Tiger from its name, rebranding to a more aligned Howden Re and the firm’s capital markets and insurance-linked securities (ILS) specialist unit will become Howden Capital Markets & Advisory.