SageSure, a provider of catastrophe-exposed property insurance, and Anchor Re, a captive reinsurance vehicle, have jointly announced the successful closure of Anchor Re’s debut $50 million catastrophe bond.
The transaction, named Gateway Re Series 2023-3, was priced below the initial guidance, reflecting strong investor support.
The cat bond provides multi-year retrocessional protection against a series of US named storms for SageSure’s carrier partners, SURE and SafePort.
Notably, this bond stands out in the insurance-linked securities (ILS) market due to its unique structure, using Property Claim Services (PCS) county-level cat loss reporting as the trigger.
This innovative approach leverages the most granular loss estimate data available, enhancing Anchor Re’s ability to manage basis risk and capital efficiently while offering greater transparency to ILS investors.
Travis Lewis, Director of Anchor Re, expressed enthusiasm about the support from investors for their first cat bond, emphasising that the bond strengthens their ability to provide support for SURE and SafePort’s reinsurance programs and maximises capital and capacity efficiency.
This marks the fourth entry into the ILS market in 2023 for SageSure, underscoring their sophisticated approach to reinsurance arrangements. Earlier this year, SageSure supported SURE in a $355 million Gateway Re 2023-1 cat bond, a $100 million Gateway Re 2023-2 second and subsequent event cat bond, and SafePort’s debut $125 million Gateway Re II 2023-1 cat bond.
Terrence McLean, a spokesperson from SageSure, highlighted the crucial role of capital markets in their carrier partners’ reinsurance placements since 2022. McLean expressed gratitude for ILS investor support, which enables SageSure to continue innovating and thriving in challenging property insurance markets.
As with previous Gateway Re transactions this year, Swiss Re Capital Markets played a key role as the sole structuring agent and bookrunner.
Jean-Louis Monnier, Head of ILS at Swiss Re, praised SageSure’s presence as a prominent ILS sponsor and the investors’ confidence in both SageSure and the Gateway Re program. He commended the structural features of the fourth issuance under the Gateway Re program, which benefit ILS investors and provide valuable sideways coverage for Anchor Re.
The successful issuance of the Gateway Re Series 2023-3 cat bond reinforces the strength and reputation of both SageSure and Anchor Re in the insurance-linked securities market, Monnier added.
