There was $1.051 billion of new property/casualty catastrophe bond issuance across five transactions during the first quarter of 2019, according to a report Tuesday from Willis Towers Watson PLC.
The figure made Q1 2019 the lowest first quarter for total issuance in the past five years and is roughly one-third of the record-breaking $3.10 billion of activity observed in Q1 2018, Willis said.
U.S. wind was the chief peril covered with $450 million of capacity providing protection for pure U.S. wind peril and a further $550 million on peak multiperil protection, with around $50 million of diversifying multiperil protection also issued, the report said.
Cape Lookout Re 2019-1 will provide the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association with $450 million of protection against named storms and thunderstorms in North Carolina on an annual aggregate basis with Hannover Re acting as a ceding reinsurer and engaging in a retrocessional arrangement with Cape Lookout Re to provide the NCIUA with the coverage, Willis said.
Allstate’s Sanders Re II provides $300 million of coverage on both a per occurrence and aggregate basis, triggering at $2.75 billion and $3.54 billion, respectively, from U.S. named storms, earthquakes, severe weather and fire. The cat bond-backed layer will not cover any risks in Florida, Willis noted.
Willis also noted Pool Re’s Baltic PCC Ltd., a private placement that will deliver £75 million ($97.84 million) of cover against property damage caused by a range of terror threats, including explosive devices and cyberattacks, just the second cat bond domiciled in the U.K., following SCOR’s Atlas Capital U.K. 2018 last year.
Swiss Re Ltd. said that catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities rates are expected to increase at mid-year renewals after the sector suffered large natural disaster-related losses in 2017 and 2018, Artemis.bm reports. Swiss Re said that prices are likely to rise for loss affected cat bonds and those focused on regions with less robust risk models.