27 August 2026 / 8 min read
Retrocession and capital team - Global RE Capital Management
Another very big year
Aon’s mid-year report said cat bond issuance in 2026 was keeping pace with 2025’s record, driven mostly by large 144A deals. Gallagher Securities counted close to USD 6 billion issued in the first quarter alone. Investors have done well from the asset class for several years and they want more of it.
Put that next to record traditional capital and it is not hard to see why property catastrophe pricing has come down. KBRA reported cuts of 10% to 25% at the June renewals.
Where the competition bites
Bonds are at their most competitive high up the tower, on peak perils in mature markets where the modelling is well understood and the data is deep. Spreads there have tightened a lot, and some cedants use bond pricing to lean on their traditional panel.
Lower and middle layers, non-peak perils and emerging markets are a different story. There, judgement, relationships and flexibility on structure still count for more than the lowest cost of capital.
Better together
Fully collateralised multi-year cover is genuinely useful if you want price certainty at the top of your programme. Traditional reinsurance brings reinstatements, broader cover, flexibility on claims and a partner who stays with you after a bad year.
The best programmes we see use both. Global RE focuses on the layers and territories where a specialist reinsurer adds most, backed by A-rated retrocession partners.