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Swiss Re’s Capital Markets division reports that catastrophe (cat) bonds and related insurance-linked securities (ILSs) have grown at roughly a 15.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2021, with 2026 issuance and outstanding notional again reaching record levels. The first half of 2026 saw $17.6 billion of new cat bond issuance and outstanding limit rising to $64.8 billion, despite $10.2 billion in maturities and early redemptions. This reflects strong investor demand for uncorrelated catastrophe risk, sponsors using cat bonds more systematically around mid‑year renewals, and gradual broadening from peak U.S. wind and earthquake into selected secondary perils. [Source: Artemis.bm]

The trustees of the Crédit Commercial de France – London Branch Pension and Life Assurance Scheme have completed a buy‑in with Royal London for £10 million, securing members’ benefits in the United Kingdom. [Source: PensionsAge]

An unnamed UK pension scheme has completed a buy‑in with Aviva for £24 million, securing the benefits of 240 members in the United Kingdom. The trustees agreed in July 2025 to approach the market in February 2026 and aimed to execute the buy‑in before the second half of 2026. [PensionsAge]

Ex-Services Mental Welfare Society 1974 Pension and Life Assurance Scheme, sponsored by Combat Stress, has completed a buy-in with Just Group for £4 million covering 39 members, comprising 17 pensioners and 22 deferred members, in the UK. The trustees monitored the transaction via Just Group’s Beacon service from September 2024 and proceeded in early 2026, with completion in May 2026. [Source: PensionsAge]

Artex Axcell Re (Bermuda) Limited issued $60 million Artex Axcell Re (Series FE0004) single-tranche catastrophe (CAT) bonds. No other pertinent details of the transaction have been made available. [Source: Artemis.bm]

Smiths Industries Pension Scheme, sponsored by Smiths Group, has completed a £760 million buy-in with M&G covering more than 10,000 members in the UK. This fifth bulk annuity transaction for the scheme fully insures the defined benefit liabilities and was completed earlier in July 2026 without requiring additional sponsor capital, following earlier buy-ins with Canada Life and Pension Insurance Corporation. [Source: Pensions Expert]

Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has reclassified natural catastrophe (cat) bonds as eligible reinsurance for capital relief under its Minimum Capital Test Guideline, in the context of updating insurers’ capital frameworks. OSFI now allows cat bonds to reduce insurance risk capital requirements, treating them as unregistered reinsurance without margin, provided they use indemnity triggers and collateral invested in high‑quality assets held domestically under a reinsurance security agreement. This formalizes structural conditions for recognition and requires prior supervisory approval, integrating cat bonds into the regulated reinsurance tower. The change potentially expands issuance by Canadian sponsors and diversifies reinsurance capital access, but leaves unresolved how strictly collateral location and trigger design will constrain deal structuring and investor appetite. [Source: Artemis.bm]

Kaith Re Ltd. is looking to issue at least $14.94 million Seaside Re (Series 2026-61) single-tranche one-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds. They will cover losses from U.S. property catastrophe risks across the United States on an indemnity basis. [Source: Artemis.bm]

Pensions Expert analyze which advisory firms—beyond insurers—are driving the UK defined benefit (DB) bulk annuity market, finding CMS law firm dominant over three years with 53 of 262 deal announcements (20%) and £27.1 billion in transactions, ahead of Eversheds Sutherland (45 deals) and Gowling WLG (32). More than 350 transactions completed in 2025—a record—with sub-£100 million deals exceeding 85% of H1 volume; Just Group and Aviva led among insurers. H1 2026 continued the small-scheme trend, with a potential return of large schemes in H2 likely to shift capacity and pricing. A structural concern is that trustee boards apply less scrutiny to adviser selection than to insurer selection, leaving governance gaps in a market with over £1 trillion in remaining DB liabilities. [Pensions Expert]

Standard Life projects U.K. pension risk transfer volumes of £35 billion to £40 billion in 2026, signaling a still-elevated de-risking pipeline despite some schemes pausing to reassess endgame options after recent legislative changes. Activity to date has been driven by smaller and mid-sized bulk purchase annuity transactions, but a pivot toward multi‑billion‑pound cases in the second half could materially alter annual volumes and pricing, given insurer capacity constraints. The article frames a window where favorable pricing and strong insurer appetite coexist with uncertainty over run‑on, insurance, and surplus‑use rules, leaving trustees split between moving now via buy‑in or buyout versus waiting for clearer regulation and more detailed guidance on non‑price dimensions such as member communications and transition processes. [PensionsAge]

Pension Insurance Corporation has completed a £4.3 billion full buyout of the Rolls-Royce Pension Fund and outsourced ongoing administration to Brightwell, which will absorb the in-house administration team. The transaction converts 36,000 defined benefit members into insurance policyholders and illustrates the operational model where specialist fiduciary administrators scale bulk annuity endgame servicing alongside insurers. This reinforces the U.K. trend toward insurer-backed de-risking with third-party administration platforms, while leaving open longer-term questions about service quality, cost pass-through, and resilience as more large schemes pursue rapid buyout timelines. [Pensions Expert]

The World Bank (IBRD) has begun work on a potential three‑year parametric earthquake catastrophe (CAT) bond for Nepal, providing approximately $80 million of cover for a one‑in‑twenty‑year event and up to $190 million for a one‑in‑one‑hundred‑year event via fully collateralized capital‑markets funding. The project, with an estimated $20 million cost for premiums and preparatory work, would likely use the IBRD Capital‑At‑Risk Notes Program to intermediate insurance‑linked securities investors and deliver rapid, rules‑based payouts triggered by physical earthquake parameters, aiming to fill a critical sovereign disaster‑risk‑financing gap highlighted by the 2015 quake that caused damages around one‑third of Nepal’s gross domestic product. [Artemis]

Hannover Re will issue $200 million 3264 Re Ltd. (Series 2026-1) two-tranche three-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds, versus the original $125 million target. They will cover losses from North American named storms and earthquakes in the US, DC and Canada, and Gulf coast named storms and Florida named storm events in the Gulf and Florida, on an annual aggregate industry-loss basis and per-occurrence industry-loss basis. [Source: Artemis.bm]

Porch Group will issue its targeted $100 million of Harbor Crest Re Ltd. Series 2026-1 single-tranche roughly four-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds. They will cover losses from named storms, winter storms, severe weather events, wildfire, and fire-following earthquake events across the 50 states of the US and D.C. on an indemnity and per-occurrence basis. [Source: Artemis.bm]

The U.S. Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA) reports that U.S. pension risk transfer (PRT) buyout and buy-in sales fell to approximately $3.8 billion in first-quarter 2026, down 47% year over year after an exceptionally strong fourth quarter of 2025 that pulled forward deal flow. New single-premium buyout premiums dropped 57% to $3.02 billion with 85 contracts, while buy-in premiums rose 443% to $768 million on four contracts, indicating a shift in transaction mix rather than a collapse in insurer capacity. Full plan terminations represented about one-third of premiums, and total single-premium PRT assets reached $341.2 billion, up 11% from first-quarter 2025, suggesting structurally robust demand even as volumes become more episodic and sensitive to funding conditions and annuity pricing. [LIMRA]

Growing “run-on” strategies by well-funded large defined benefit schemes are freeing insurer capacity and creating unusually favorable buyout conditions for small schemes in the United Kingdom. Larger schemes are increasingly retaining risk to use surplus and support sponsor objectives, shrinking the pipeline of large bulk annuity deals entering the traditional insurance market. Insurers are therefore redirecting underwriting and operational bandwidth toward smaller transactions, reducing the need for exclusivity arrangements and increasing the frequency of multi-insurer quotations, which in turn improves pricing and competitive dynamics. Pensions Expert data show that transactions under £100 million now constitute more than half of 317 publicized bulk annuity deals since January 2023, underlining a structural shift, while the key unresolved issue is how long this “safe harbor” window for small schemes will persist as market conditions and endgame preferences evolve. [Source: Pensions Expert]

Hannover Re issued $7.47 million LI Re Series 2026-3 single-tranche one-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds. The loss coverage and bases were not specified. [Source: Artemis.bm]

Swiss Re will issue $345 million Matterhorn Re Ltd. (Series 2026-3) five-tranche four-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds, versus the original $275 million target. They will cover losses from earthquake and named storm perils across all 50 United States (with some tranches limited to California or excluding Hawaii), the District of Columbia, and Canada on an industry-loss index basis across aggregate and per-occurrence structures. [Source: Artemis.bm]

Arthur Re Ltd. will issue $75 million Arthur Re Ltd. – Tranquil Re 2026-1 single-tranche two-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds, versus the original $60 million target. They will cover losses from US named storms and earthquakes in the United States on an per-occurrence and industry loss index basis. [Source: Artemis.bm]

The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Pension Scheme has completed a full-scheme buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation for £35 million, securing the benefits of all 253 members in the United Kingdom. [Source: PensionsAge]

An unnamed pension scheme in the oil and gas sector has completed a full-scheme buy-in with Canada Life for £48 million, covering more than 500 pensioner and deferred members in the UK. [Source:PensionsAge]

Rothesay has launched Rothesay Radius, a dedicated bulk annuity offering for smaller UK pension schemes sized £10 million to £100 million, with no exclusivity requirement and a more streamlined quote and execution process for trustees and advisers. The launch responds to rapid growth in the sub-£100 million de-risking market, where annual transaction volumes rose from £2.8 billion in 2021 to £7.2 billion in 2025. Rothesay says it has already completed 12 such schemes in the past 18 months, worth £260 million, and will support the service with specialist teams, simplified templates, transparent price-locking, and GMP-equalised inceptions. [Source: Pensions Expert]

UK defined benefit schemes are increasingly exploring “run‑on” strategies, supported by the Pension Schemes Act’s new statutory surplus‑release powers and improved funding, but these options are realistically available only to larger schemes with more governance and risk capacity. For most small and medium schemes, insurer buy‑ins and buyouts remain the dominant endgame, with more than half of 317 public transactions between January 2023 and June 2026 below £100 million, reflecting streamlined small‑scheme propositions and insurers’ commercial need to maintain new business volumes. Consultants expect any impact of surplus flexibilities on bulk annuity demand to be marginal in the near term, with “run‑on” mainly acting as a tailwind by creating favourable pricing and competition conditions rather than displacing insurance as the preferred de‑risking route. [Source: Pensions Expert]

Hannover Re is looking to issue at least $125 million 3264 Re Ltd. (Series 2026-1) two-tranche three-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds. They will cover losses from North American named storms and earthquakes in the US, DC and Canada, and Gulf coast named storms and Florida named storm events in the Gulf and Florida, on an annual aggregate industry-loss basis and per-occurrence industry-loss basis. [Source: Artemis.bm]

The Royal Institute of British Architects 1974 Staff Pension Scheme has completed a buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation for £35 million, securing the benefits of 168 members in the United Kingdom. [Source: PensionsAge]

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is looking to issue at least $100 million 123 Lights Re Ltd. (Series 2026-1) single-tranche three-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds. They will cover losses from wildfire events in the state of California on an industry loss index basis. [Source: Artemis.bm]

Fidelis Partnership linked Syndicate 3123 at Lloyd’s will issue $75 million Arthur Re Ltd. – Woody Re 2026-1 single-tranche three-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds. They will cover losses from named storms, earthquakes, severe thunderstorms, winter storms and wildfire events across the 50 states of the US and DC, with named storm and earthquake coverage also in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands and earthquake coverage additionally in Canada, on an annual aggregate, industry loss index trigger basis. [Source: Artemis.bm]

Everest Re will issue $350 million Kilimanjaro III Re Ltd. (Series 2026-1) and $280 million Kilimanjaro III Re Ltd. (Series 2026-2) two-tranche three-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds, versus the original combined $530 million. They will cover losses from named storms and earthquakes impacting the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, D.C., and Canada on a regionally weighted industry-loss trigger basis. [Source: Artemis.bm]

An unnamed energy industry pension scheme has completed a buy-in bulk purchase annuity with Canada Life for £55 million, covering more than 250 pensioners and 450 deferred members in the United Kingdom.

Gothaer Allgemeine Versicherungs AG will issue its targeted €100 million Yardstick Re DAC (Series 2026-1) single-tranche four-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds. They will cover losses from major inland and coastal flood events in Germany on an indemnity per-occurrence basis. [Source: Artemis.bm]