Topic: Insurance Linked Securities (ILS)

Specialty insurer Beazley sponsored the first Cyber Insurance Catastrophe (CAT) bond recently, a new type of ILS or insurance linked security issued by a Bermuda entity. They announced the $45 million private placement on January 9, 2023. The bonds provide investors with a generous floating rate of interest and a return of principal in one year, provided that no single catastrophic event occurs across Beazley’s portfolio of cyber insurance policies that results in more than $300 million of losses. Any losses above $300 million incurred by Beazley on those policies as a result of that one event would be absorbed by the investors, up to the $45 million principal amount. The deal was marketed under an NDA, so not all of the details are available, but the bonds will not protect against losses from a state-sponsored cyberattack, which is typically excluded from cyber insurance policies as an act of war.