The Government of Jamaica has returned to the catastrophe bond market for a third time with an issuance from the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), renewing a key part of its disaster risk financing infrastructure after its second catastrophe bond was triggered and paid out in full following Hurricane Melissa in 2025.
The World Bank said the transaction was oversubscribed by investors, supporting an upsizing of its initial target amount, which was reported on by our sister publication Artemis back in April.
The deal was reportedly issued under IBRD’s “capital at risk” notes program, which enables member countries to transfer disaster-related risks to global capital markets. Under the transaction structure, the World Bank issues the bond and enters into a risk transfer agreement with the government of Jamaica, which will pay a premium for the coverage based on the terms achieved in the capital markets.
The World Bank explained that Jamaica is highly exposed to the financial consequences caused by hurricanes, which can have significant impacts on lives, livelihoods, and economic stability.
“The catastrophe bond provides pre-arranged financing for protection with regard to low-frequency, high-impact hurricane events, complementing other instruments such as budget reserves, contingent financing, and insurance,” the World Bank added.
Aon Securities and Swiss Re Capital Markets were the joint structuring agents and joint bookrunners for the transaction. Moody’s RMS is the risk modeller and calculation agent.
For further details on the parametric trigger design of the World Bank–facilitated IBRD CAR Jamaica 2026 catastrophe bond issuance, readers can consult the Artemis Deal Directory, which tracks more than 1,000 catastrophe bonds and other insurance-linked securities (ILS) transactions issued since the market’s inception in the mid-1990s.
The Hon. Fayval Williams, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Government of Jamaica, commented, “Having disaster risk financing in place is a key pillar of our resilience-building framework. We thank our partner, the World Bank, for its continued support. The catastrophe bond is an important piece ensuring capital market access for Jamaica.”
Jorge Familiar, Vice President and Treasurer, World Bank Group, said, “We are proud to continue supporting Jamaica in accessing capital markets through the World Bank to strengthen its resilience against hurricane risk.
“The payout following Hurricane Melissa demonstrated once again how countries can prepare for disaster with well-designed parametric instruments that deliver fast, and reliable financial protection when it is needed most.”
“Jamaica’s commitment to building resilience and protecting livelihoods through hurricane insurance coverage is commendable. Having faced two significant hurricanes in the past two years, financial preparedness remains critical, and the World Bank will continue supporting Jamaica as it plans and builds forward,” said Susana Cordeiro Guerra, World Bank Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Michael Steel, General Manager, Moody’s – Insurance Solutions, noted, “Moody’s is privileged to work with the World Bank on this latest bond issuance, which plays an important role in strengthening the Government of Jamaica’s mission to build financial resilience to natural disasters.
“Catastrophe bonds are increasingly important in providing timely access to funding following severe events, and it is important that they are underpinned by robust risk quantification.”
