French reinsurance company SCOR has returned to the catastrophe bond market, securing $240 million of retrocession protection against named storms in the US and the Caribbean, earthquakes in the US and Canada, and European windstorms.
Atlas Capital DAC (Series 2025-1) is the nineteenth cat bond from SCOR under the Atlas name and the twentieth issuance from the company since 2000.
The new cat bond’s risk period runs from June 1st, 2025, to May 31st, 2028, after receiving approval from the Irish regulatory authorities.
According to SCOR, one of Europe’s big four reinsurers, the Atlas Capital DAC (Series 2025-1) offering integrates ESG-related considerations to support investors’ due diligence.
The cat bond was placed with an interest spread of 7.25% and was well received, benefitting from strong investor demand at a time of rapid growth for the cat bond asset class.
SCOR explains that its latest cat bond is an aggregate, index-based trigger structure issued by Atlas Capital DAC, a multi-arrangement special purpose vehicle approved in Ireland under Solvency II, created in 2023 for the Series 2023-1 cat bond issuance. The vehicle can be used by the Group to sponsor cat bonds covering various perils in both life and health and property and casualty lines.
“The benefits of this vehicle were again visible this year, as it allowed for a fast and cost-effective issuance process. In particular, the transaction was offered to investors around two months in advance of the start of the risk period, allowing SCOR to benefit from the currently favorable conditions in the cat bond market,” explains the reinsurer.
At $240 million, SCOR says that the size of this cat bond issuance is in line with its catastrophe exposures and with its retrocession strategy under the firm’s Forward 2026 strategic plan.
François de Varenne, Group CFO and Deputy CEO of SCOR, said: “SCOR is pleased to sponsor a new cat bond this year, securing multi-year protection against peak natural perils from the ILS market at favorable pricing conditions. SCOR has been a regular sponsor of cat bonds over the last 25 years, and we are delighted by the strong and continued investor demand, as cat bonds remain an integral part of our risk partnerships strategy under the Forward 2026 plan. We are also very pleased with the efficiency gains made by reusing Atlas Capital DAC for a third year.”
You can read all about this cat bond and hundreds of others on the Artemis Deal Directory.
