First quarter saw $3.28 billion of 144A securities issued across six transactions covering extreme morbidity, earthquake and U.S. multiperil, according to the report Insurance-Linked Securities Market Update Volume XXIX, August 2018, from Swiss Re.
Second-quarter issuance reached $4.03 billion in 14 transactions covering mainly U.S. multiperil or state-specific wind coverage, the report said.
The $3.28 billion of first-quarter issuance was the largest on record, while second quarter’s $4.03 billion trails only last year’s record second-quarter issuance of $6.23 billion.
“That said, issuance for the first and second quarters are generally larger than the latter half of the year, with sponsors seeking coverage ahead of the U.S. hurricane and severe thunderstorm season,” the report noted.
The total of $10.5 billion for 2017 was also the first year during which issuance topped $10 billion annually, according to data in the report.
As of June 30, 2018, there was $29.11 billion of issuance outstanding compared with $26.9 billion as of June 30, 2017, the data showed.
Indemnity triggers accounted for the majority of value for first-half issuance at $4.6 billion, followed by parametric triggers at $1.36 billion and industry index triggers at $1.3 billion, the data showed.