The second quarter of 2025 was another record period for the catastrophe bond market, with issuance of $10.5 billion from 38 transactions comprised of 58 tranches of notes, ensuring that new annual records have been set for 144A property cat bond and total 144A cat bond and related ILS issuance, in just the first six months of the year, reports Artemis.
It dissects a record-breaking second quarter and first half of 2025 for the marketplace, as deal activity swelled ahead of the mid-year renewals and Atlantic hurricane season.
At $10.5 billion, it’s the biggest quarter in the market’s history, with almost $6 billion brought to market in May, making it the most active month for issuance ever.
Combined with the very active Q1, Q2 issuance took total cat bond and related ILS issuance to a massive $17.6 billion in H1 2025, which is very close to the annual issuance record of $17.7 billion set in 2024, and after just the first six months of the year.
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As well as new annual issuance records for both 144A property cat bond and total 144A cat bond and related ILS in H1 2025, the outstanding market also ended Q2 2025 at an end of quarter high of $56.7 billion, expanding by more than $7.2 billion from the end of 2024, despite a significant $10.3 billion of maturities in the first half of 2025.
The Artemis Q2 2025 cat bond report also explores pricing dynamics of quarterly issuance, revealing that while there’s evidence of softening, the record number of transactions and level of issuance shows that pricing is clearly still favourable for both sponsors and investors.
This report also breaks down the triggers and perils of Q2 and H1 2025 issuance, highlighting a strong period for US catastrophe risks, as sponsors in the US get increasingly comfortable with cat bonds as part of their reinsurance.
Download your copy of the new Q2 2025 Artemis cat bond market report here.
For details of the transactions issued in Q2 2025 and hundreds of other cat bond and related ILS transactions, visit the extensive Artemis Deal Directory.
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