Ursa Re II Ltd

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) entered the January reinsurance renewals with almost one billion dollars more in risk transfer than a year earlier, as the group reached December 31st 2023 with $9.1 billion of protection in-force.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) is said to have stabilised its risk transfer and reinsurance program, while increasing its claims paying capacity to the 1-in-365-year return period, as of January 1st 2024, according to rating agency AM Best.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) increased the size of its overall risk transfer and reinsurance program up to November 1st, hitting that date with $9.26 billion in-force, as part of which the CEA’s catastrophe bonds had increased their share.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) increased its overall risk transfer and reinsurance protection through the middle of the year, lifting the program to almost $8.86 billion in size, with its catastrophe bonds making up a steady 24% of the total.

As the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) fast approaches one of its major reinsurance renewals for the year at April 1st, the earthquake insurer has seen the risk transfer program shrink a little further to just under $8.1 billion by January 31st.

One of the world’s largest reinsurance buyers the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has had its ratings downgraded because its claims paying capacity has been reduced, with lack of reinsurance one of the driving factors.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has seen the traditional reinsurance component of its risk transfer arrangements shrink further at the 1/1 renewals, according to the latest estimate from the insurer.

Having struggled in placing reinsurance in October and feeling that the January renewals could be a further challenge, the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has successfully sponsored the largest catastrophe bond issue since hurricane Ian struck, securing a new $305 million Ursa Re II Ltd. (Series 2022-2) deal.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) was unable to fully renew all of its expiring reinsurance at October 1st resulting in a further shrinking of its risk transfer program and now the CEA is unsure whether it can renew all its expiring limit at the January 1st 2023 renewal as well.

The California Earthquake Authority’s (CEA) reinsurance and catastrophe bond based risk transfer program has shrunk back to just slightly under $9.3 billion in size, as the insurer also experiences challenges in the market due to harder pricing.