Ursa Re Ltd.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has increased the targeted amount of multi-year collateralized California earthquake reinsurance protection it seeks from capital market investors through its new Ursa Re Ltd. (Series 2025-1) issuance, with now up to $375 million of coverage being sought, while the price guidance has been fixed at 7.5%, Artemis has learned.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has returned to the catastrophe bond market to sponsor its first issuance since late 2023, seeking $200 million or more in multi-year collateralized California earthquake reinsurance protection from the capital markets through this Ursa Re Ltd. (Series 2025-1) issuance.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) is discussing the need for either a pre-funded subsequent or second-event funding tower (with risk transfer and reinsurance perhaps a part of it), or the infrastructure for one, that would support its functions after a significant earthquake loss that depletes its claims paying ability.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) did not come back to the reinsurance market at its typical October 1st renewal, allowing roughly $511 million of cover to expire and it now expects to re-evaluate its risk transfer need at the January renewals, meaning a $215 million catastrophe bond will likely mature without renewal later this month.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) elected to not renew some $648.5 million of traditional reinsurance that expired at July 31st 2024, resulting in its reinsurance and risk transfer program shrinking by 7% to $8.5 billion.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) kept its reinsurance and risk transfer program relatively stable at renewals during June 2024, ending the month with a slight increase to just over $9.15 billion of limit.

The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) has maintained its reinsurance and catastrophe bond tower at $9.1 billion in size through the start of 2024, with its most recent renewals for April 1st seeing the insurer securing almost $1.2 billion in protection.

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.