Beazley secures $45M cyber catastrophe bond

Beazley PLC on Monday said it has secured $45 million of indemnity against all perils in excess of a $300 million catastrophic cyber event with the issuance of a series 144A security, commonly known as a catastrophe bond.

Designed to cover remote probability catastrophic and systemic events, the $45 million private Section 4(2) bond is fully tradeable under Rule 144A resale of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a statement said.

The bond is backed by a panel of insurance-linked securities investors including Fermat Capital Management LLC, and additional tranches may be released through 2023 and beyond, the statement said.

The bond was structured and placed by Gallagher Securities, the ILS arm of Gallagher Re.

Adrian Cox, CEO Beazley, said in the statement the bond’s flexibility to scale over time and support continued growth in cyber is a “key element.”

John Seo, co-founder and managing director at Fermat, said in the statement the deal “creates a solid foundation for a future cyber ILS market.”

Tom Wakefield, U.K. CEO at Gallagher Re, added “the opportunity exists for a strong and sustainable cyber catastrophe ILS market.”