Since 2021, the Bermuda Monetary Authority has seen more than 60 new cat bonds registered through a new three-day registration process.

“It has been well received,” said Taijaun Talbot, assistant director of the BMA’s supervision department. “Having that ability to efficiently and swiftly move into the market, I believe, is something the participants have appreciated.”

The three-day process was not expressly implemented for cat bond registrations.

“We were just trying to be solutions-based,” he admitted. “We realised there were some efficiencies that we could create.”

Speaking about recent insurance-linked securities highlights during the ILS Bermuda 2024 Convergence conference, Mr Talbot said one of the most notable happenings has been the issuance of cyber bonds at the end of 2023.

He said: “A few of those were issued out of the Bermuda market, so we have a full suite of ILS bonds, including cat bonds, mortgage bonds and now cyber bonds.”

Mr Talbot said Bermuda did not see a lot of cyber bonds, as a result of the new entry, but it was a positive development as sophisticated parties stepped up to take the lead.

“That lays a good foundation for there to be a larger ILS participation in cyber,” Mr Talbot said.

He said the cat bond market has been highly active in Bermuda.

“We have had two to three years of record-breaking issuances and outstanding bonds in the market,” Mr Talbot said.

Another highlight of the market, in recent years, has been casualty, he told the audience at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club.

“Sometime back, we introduced a new collateralised reinsurer class,” he said. “At the time, collateralised reinsurance was booming. There was a lot of talk around, what else we could do. We saw a lot of appetite and interest in casualty.”

He said the market after 2017 and 2018 did not see the growth results they were hoping for in casualty.

“However, over the last 12 months, we have seen five collateralised rate structures being formed, and among those business plans, there is approximately $1 billion of exposure out there,” he said.

As with cyber bonds, the BMA notes a very niche segment of participants taking part in casualty.

“They are laying a solid foundation for a potentially positive future of casualty in the ILS space,” he said.