The southern California wildfires are unlikely to have a significant impact on the cat bond market, according to separate commentaries from ILS investors Twelve Capital and Plenum Investments.

QBE Capital has closed a new catastrophe bond that provides QBE Insurance Group with $250mn of collateralised reinsurance protection through its Bridge Street Re program.

The wildfires currently burning near Los Angeles have raised concerns about potential attachment erosion for aggregate cat bonds, according to Swiss investment manager Icosa Investments.

Paris-headquartered CCR Re has confirmed the successful renewal of its 157 Re collateralised reinsurance sidecar.

The ILS market is set to see debut cat bonds from new sponsors in Q1 as strong momentum continues into 2025 after ~$17bn in limit was placed last year across 67 transactions, according to data from GC Securities.

Insurance-linked securities were an “integral” part of renewals discussions heading into 2025 with the pipeline of cat bond issuance continuing to grow, according to Gallagher Re.

Hong Kong-based reinsurer Taiping Re, part of state-owned China Taiping Insurance Group, has issued a $35mn catastrophe bond to cover China earthquake and US hurricane risks.

(The Insurer) - 2024 was a year of significant growth in both the catastrophe bond market and the insurance loss warranty (ILW) market, with momentum continuing into the 1.1.25 renewals, according to broker Howden.

Fidelis Insurance Group has returned to the ILS market and secured $375mn of collateralised reinsurance coverage that will protect it against losses from named storm and earthquake events across the US, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

Beazley has secured $200mn of natural catastrophe reinsurance protection through its latest cat bond, Fuschia 2.