Catastrophe Bond Issuance Reached a Record $17.98 Billion in the First Half of 2026, Artemis Data Show, With 12 First-Time Sponsors and an Outstanding Market of $65.6 Billion

The catastrophe bond market set several records in the first half of 2026, according to data compiled by Artemis, the specialist tracker of insurance-linked securities, and published on July 6. Total issuance, including Rule 144A deals and private transactions, reached almost $17.98 billion. That is above the previous record of just over $17.56 billion set in the first half of 2025, an increase of about 2.4% by simple arithmetic on the two reported figures. The report is a record-keeping piece, listing the milestones that were passed, and the author notes that the list is not exhaustive.

What a catastrophe bond is

A catastrophe bond is a security issued by or on behalf of an insurer or reinsurer, known as the sponsor, to raise protection against a defined disaster such as a hurricane or earthquake. Investors put up money, which is held in a collateral account, and receive interest. If the specified event occurs and meets the trigger terms, some or all of the principal is used to pay the sponsor's claims, and investors lose that money. If not, the principal is returned at maturity. For investors, the appeal is returns that are linked to natural events and not to the economy, and for sponsors the appeal is multi-year, collateralised protection.

The record numbers

Several measures set records. Rule 144A issuance, which covers bonds sold to qualified institutional buyers, across all perils was almost $17.7 billion, against just over $17.4 billion a year earlier. Rule 144A property catastrophe bond issuance was almost $17.3 billion, against almost $16.8 billion. May 2026 was the biggest single month ever, at almost $6.93 billion, compared with almost $5.93 billion in May 2025, a difference of about $1 billion.

The outstanding market, the total value of bonds still in force, ended the first half at almost $65.6 billion including private deals. That is the largest end-of-quarter figure recorded, and up from almost $63.9 billion at the end of the first quarter. For 144A and 144A-eligible bonds alone, the end-of-half size was almost $65.3 billion, above the previous end-of-quarter high of almost $63.6 billion.

Who is issuing

Twelve first-time sponsors debuted in the first half of 2026, a record that beats the 11 of the first half of 2025. New sponsors are a sign that the market is attracting insurers that had not previously used it, although the article does not name them. Artemis also tracked 83 new Rule 144A and private transactions in the half, beating the previous half-year record of 72 set in 2025. For comparison, the article lists 95 deals for full-year 2023, about 93 for 2024 and 122 for 2025. By simple arithmetic, 83 deals in six months is about 68% of the 122 deals in the whole of 2025, so the year is on pace to exceed that total if activity holds in the second half, though the second half is not guaranteed to match the first.

Indemnity triggers

Indemnity triggers made up 81% of risk capital issued in the half, up from 79% in the first half of 2025. Artemis notes this is the highest share recorded, although earlier data is patchier. An indemnity trigger pays out based on the sponsor's actual losses, which is closer to traditional reinsurance and reduces basis risk, the risk that a payout does not match the sponsor's loss. The alternative triggers, such as parametric ones that pay when an event meets a measured threshold, can pay faster but may not align with actual losses. A rising share of indemnity triggers suggests that investors are comfortable taking exposure to insurers' loss experience.

How to read a record

Records in a growing market are partly a matter of scale. A market of almost $65.6 billion outstanding is much larger than the market of a few years ago, so a new half-year high does not necessarily indicate a change in conditions. What stands out in this data is that several different measures, issuance value, single-month volume, deal count, new sponsors and outstanding size, all set records in the same half. When separate measures move together, it is more likely to reflect broad participation than one or two very large deals. The article's note that the list of records is not exhaustive also implies that other measures may have moved.

What the article does not say

The Artemis article does not provide pricing or spread data, so it does not say whether investors are being paid more or less than before for taking risk. It does not name the sponsors behind the records or attribute the growth to specific perils or regions, although property catastrophe bonds dominate the totals. It also does not comment on the reasons for the growth. Explanations for the growth are not part of this report and are not offered here.

Why it matters

For insurers, a larger and more diversified cat bond market gives more options when buying protection. For reinsurers, it is a competitor. For investors, it is a growing asset class with its own risks. For policyholders, the effect is indirect: more capital competing to provide catastrophe protection can influence the cost of reinsurance, which in turn feeds into the premiums that insurers charge. Whether that happens depends on pricing, which this report does not cover.

This article summarises a single published report of market data. It is general information, not investment advice.