FloodSmart Re Ltd. Series 2018-1

The first flood catastrophe bond, sponsored by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to transfer risk from the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) risk to the capital markets, was a “very significant” transaction for the ILS market, according to Fermat Capital Management’s John Seo.

With FEMA having successfully tapped the capital markets for a mid-year 2018 transfer of risk from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through its first catastrophe bond, broker Craig Poulton of Poulton Associates, has said that while it’s a positive move, more granularity will ultimately benefit the market in time.

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has now secured its $500 million of reinsurance from the capital markets through its first flood catastrophe bond issuance, the FloodSmart Re Ltd. (Series 2018-1) transaction, and more than 35 ILS investors and ILS funds have backed the deal.

The first catastrophe bond to transfer a portion of the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) risk to the capital markets will increase significantly in size, as the FloodSmart Re Ltd. (Series 2018-1) issuance is understood to have expanded to $500 million, while pricing has dropped to the bottom of guidance during marketing.

The value of flood insurance claims paid by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) from damage caused by last year’s hurricane Irma have now hit $1.1 billion, which remains well below where the first NFIP flood catastrophe bond will attach once its issuance is completed.

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has launched its awaited first catastrophe bond to transfer risk from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to the capital markets and is seeking $275 million of reinsurance protection from a FloodSmart Re Ltd. (Series 2018-1) issuance.