American Coastal seeks $150m Armor Re II Florida named storm cat bond
American Coastal Insurance is looking to issue at least $150 million Armor Re II Ltd. (Series 2024-1) single-tranche three-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds. They will cover losses from Florida named storms on an indemnity and per-occurrence basis. [Artemis]
Texas Windstorm (TWIA) targets $600m Alamo Re catastrophe bond
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) is looking to issue at least $600 million Alamo Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) three-tranche catastrophe (CAT) bonds. Two of the tranches (Classes A and B) will run for three years, and the Class C tranche only two years. All three will cover losses from Texas named storms on an indemnity trigger and annual basis. [Artemis]
SURE & Elevate seek up to $130m Gateway Re 2024-2 second event cat bond
SageSure is looking to issue up to $130 million Gateway Re Ltd. (Series 2024-2) single-tranche nine-month catastrophe (CAT) bonds. They will cover losses named storms affecting Alabama, Florida, North and South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, on an indemnity, per-occurrence basis, for second and subsequent event losses. [Artemis]
Tokio Marine prices $100m Kizuna Re quake cat bond at low-end of guidance
Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance issued $100million Kizuna Re III Pte. Ltd. (Series 2024-1) single-tranche five-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds. They will cover losses from Japanese earthquakes on a three-year rolling aggregate and indemnity trigger basis. [Artemis]
LGRA and RGA complete $700mn pension risk transfer with FirstEnergy
Legal & General Retirement America (LGRA) and Reinsurance Group of America (RGA) have partnered to complete a $700 million pension risk transfer (PRT) transaction with US-based FirstEnergy. The transaction will secure the retirement benefits of approximately 2,000 retirees from the investor-owned electric utilities company. [Reinsurance News]
Pension insurance specialist Rothesay has agreed to buy the about 6 billion pound (Lloyds Banking Group subsidiary) Scottish Widows in-force bulk annuity portfolio from Lloyds. The deal covers the pension benefits of about 42,000 people and marks Rothesay's sixth acquisition of annuities. [Reuters]
UnipolSai secures €100m Azzurro Re II 2024 cat bond at top-end pricing
Italian primary insurance company UnipolSai Assicurazioni issued €100 million Azzurro Re II DAC (Series 2024-1) single-tranche four-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds. They will cover losses related to earthquakes impacting Italy and neighbouring countries on an indemnity trigger and per-occurrence basis. [Artemis]
PURE gets debut $105m Ashera Re cat bond at below guidance pricing
Tokio Marine Group’s insurance specialist PURE issued $100 million Ashera Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) single-tranche three-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds, versus the intitial target of $100 million. They will cover losses from named storms and earthquakes affecting the US and Canada on an indemnity trigger and per-occurrence basis. [Artemis]
Heritage secures new $100m Citrus Re named storm catastrophe bond
U.S.-based Heritage Insurance issued $100 million Citrus Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) two-tranche three-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds. They will initially cover losses from named storms and hurricanes in the US states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina on an indemnity trigger and per-occurrence basis. The coverage area can be expanded to also include Maryland and Virginia at a future update. [Artemis]
U.S. PRT transactions hit all-time high in 2023 – Aon
"U.S. pension risk transfer transactions totaled $45 billion and set a new record for number of transactions for 2023, according to a new report from Aon. There were a total of 773 transactions, which include pension buyouts as a result of retiree liftouts and terminations, along with a small number of buy-ins in which liabilities are insured but remain with a plan sponsor, according to the report. Of that total, there were 453 terminations, 310 liftouts and 10 buy-in transactions, accounting for $12.4 billion, $28.7 billion and $3.9 billion in volume, respectively, during 2023." [Pensions & Investments]
Brookfield gets debut $100m Aragonite Re cat bond priced below guidance
Canada-based Brookfield Corporation issued $100 million Aragonite Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) single-tranche three-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds. They will cover losses from North American earthquakes and named storms on an indemnity and per-occurrence basis. [Artemis]
MS&AD gets upsized $200m Tomoni Re cat bond priced at mid-points
MS&AD Insurance Group issued $200 million Tomoni Re Pte Ltd. (Series 2024-1) two-tranche four-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds, versus the original target of $175 million. They will cover losses from Japanese typhoons and floods on an indemnity basis, but on a mixture of per-occurrence and aggregate bases. [Artemis]
Allied Trust gets $100m Sabine Re cat bond priced, but settlement falls into April
U.S.-based Allied Trust Insurance will issue $100 million Sabine Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) single-tranche three-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds. They will cover losses from named storms in the states of Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Louisiana on an indemnity trigger and per-occurrence basis. [Artemis]
Zenkyoren targets $150m Nakama Re 2024-1 Japan quake cat bond
Zenkyoren, the Japanese National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives, is looking to issue at least $150 million Nakama Re Pte. Ltd. (Series 2024-1) single-tranche five-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds. They will cover losses from losses from shake and related perils of earthquakes, including tsunami’s, fire, flooding and sprinkler leakage, on a three-year aggregate, indemnity triggered basis. [Artemis]
PIC completes £510m buy-in of Next Group pension plan
Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) sealed a £510 million full scheme buy-in with the U.K.-based 2013 Next Group Pension Plan worth £510m, covering more than 3,600 pensioners and deferred members. The scheme is Next’s primary defined benefit (DB) pension plan and had £668.4m at end-January 2024. [Reinsurance News]
Robertson Research Group Pension Scheme agrees £45m buy-in with Aviva
The U.K-based Robertson Research Group Pension Scheme completed a £45 million full scheme buy-in worth with Aviva in the fourth quarter of 2023 that secured the benefits of 217 pensioners and 232 deferred members. [Pensions Age]
Standard Group UK Pension Scheme shares surplus assets following £26m buyout - Pensions Age Magazine
U.K.-based specialist engineering company Standard Group has completed a £26m buyout for its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, including the distribution of surplus assets to the sponsor and the 107 members of the scheme. [Pensions Age]
SURE & Elevate get $130m Gateway Re second event cat bond priced below guidance
SageSure issued $130 million Gateway Re Ltd. (Series 2024-2) single-tranche nine-month catastrophe (CAT) bonds. They will cover losses named storms affecting Alabama, Florida, North and South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, on an indemnity, per-occurrence basis, for second and subsequent event losses. [Artemis]
AmRisc raises $325m of capacity for Trouvaille Re sidecar with Stone Point support
AmRisc, LLC, a coastal commercial property insurance specialist subsidiary of Truist Insurance Holdings, has raised $325 million of capacity for a collateralized reinsurance sidecar named Trouvaille Re Ltd., with alternative investment firm Stone Point in support. The capital was raised by a combination of collateralized capital sourced from a diversified group of investors and capacity provided by the transaction’s fronting carrier, MS Transverse.
Louisiana Citizens returns for $225m Bayou Re 2024-1 catastrophe bond
Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is looking to issue $225 million Bayou Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) two-tranche three-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds. They will cover losses from named storm losses that hit the state of Louisiana on an indemnity trigger and per-occurrence basis. [Artemis]
USAA returns with $175m target for Residential Re 2024-1 aggregate cat bond
USAA is looking to issue at least $175 million Residential Reinsurance 2024 Limited (Series 2024-1) three-tranche catastrophe (CAT) bonds. One of the tranches is a zero-coupon one-year note, and the other two tranches will provide four years of cover. They will cover losses from U.S. tropical cyclones, earthquakes (plus fire following), severe thunderstorm, winter storm, wildfire, volcanic eruption, meteorite impact, other perils (all including auto & renter policy flood losses) on an annual aggregate and indemnity basis. [Artemis]
Record setting cat bond market trend continues with strongest ever Q1: Report
The first-quarter of 2024 saw a record $4.23 billion of new issuance across full 144A property catastrophe bond transactions, cat bonds covering non-catastrophe risks, such as health risks in this case, and privately placed cat bond deals. This is just the second time in the market’s history that first quarter issuance has exceeded $4 billion, and at $4.23 billion, issuance was 30% higher than Q1 2023 and is above the 10-year average for the period by roughly $1.1 billion.
2023 U.S. pension risk transfer sales hit $45.8 billion
According to the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA) U.S. pension risk transfer (PRT) volumes hit $45.8 billion. While this is 13% lower than the record set in 2022 ($48.3 billion), it does represent the second highest annual sales since LIMRA began tracking U.S. PRT transactions in 2016. According to Aon’s latest U.S. Pension Risk Transfer Report, the PRT market volumes will likely exceed $40 billion in premiums in 2024, attributed to funded status improvement, rising interest rates and increasing Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) premiums. https://assets.aon.com/-/media/files/aon/reports/2024/us-pension-risk-transfer-report.pdf [LIMRA and Aon]
Slide prices Purple Re cat bond upsized by 40%, for $210m of reinsurance
Slide Insurance will issue $210 million Purple Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) single-tranche three-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds, versus the original $150 million target. They will cover losses from named storms that affect Florida and South Carolina on an indemnity and per-occurrence basis. [Artemis]
Mexico gets $420m of disaster protection with new World Bank catastrophe bond
The Government of Mexico will issue, in partnership with the World Bank (IBRD), $420 million IBRD CAR Mexico 2024 three-tranche four-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds, versus the original $360 million target. They will cover losses from earthquakes and Atlantic hurricanes that impact Mexico on a parametric trigger per-occurrence basis. The size of payout will be dependent on an earthquake's magnitude or the depth of central pressure of a hurricane. [Artemis]
Jamaica returns for $150m+ World Bank cat bond to cover four hurricane seasons
The Jamaican government is looking to issue at least $150 million IBRD CAR Jamaica 2024 single-tranche catastrophe (CAT) bonds. The bonds will cover four hurricane seasons, so they will mature on December 29th 2027, so they are not quite four-year bonds. They will be issued by the World Bank (IBRD) under its global debt issuance facility and the Capital-At-Risk notes program. The bonds will cover losses from Atlantic named windstorms that hit Jamaica on a parametric per-occurrence basis. [Artemis]
De Beers UK Pension Scheme completes £870m buy-in with PIC
De Beers UK Pension Scheme has completed an £870 million full buy-in with Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), securing the pensions of 1,464 current pensioners and 473 deferred members. [Pensions Age]
The trustee of the Riverstone Management Pension and Life Assurance Plan has completed a £95 million full buy-in with Standard Life, securing the benefits of all 388 members in the scheme. The transaction relates to a pension scheme sponsored by Brit Insurance and is the second Brit-sponsored scheme to achieve a full scheme buy-in. As well as insuring full benefits, the deal also includes an enhancement to members’ benefits to give full future inflation protection. [Pensions Age]
Energizer pension scheme completes £44m buy-in with Just Group
Battery maker Energizer has completed a full scheme buy-in with Just Group worth £44 million, the insurer announced this week. The transaction secures benefits for 409 pensioners and 358 deferred members of the Energizer UK Pension Plan. [Pensions Expert]
Florida Peninsula gets upsized $150m Palm Re cat bond, priced down 11%
Florida Peninsula Insurance issued $150 million Palm Re Ltd. (Series 2024-1) single-tranche three-year catastrophe (CAT) bonds, versus the original $100 million target. They will cover losses from named storm losses in the state of Florida, on a per-occurrence and indemnity trigger basis.
