Centauri Insurance and Lilypad issue $30 million private cat bond

By David Bull

June 5 - (The Insurer) - Florida carriers Centauri Insurance and Lilypad have issued a $30 million private catastrophe bond to provide indemnity-based reinsurance protection against named storms in the U.S.

The Koi Re transaction provides one year of coverage, enabling the two insurers to transfer a portion of their named storm risk to the capital markets.

In a statement, the companies said the issuance would allow them to diversify their risk transfer tools and secure additional capacity.

Lockton Re Capital Markets structured and placed the $30 million tranche of Koi Re Series 2025-1 Class A notes, which provide coverage on a per-occurrence basis for exposures in Hawaii, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and South Carolina through May 31, 2026.

Koi Re was issued using a segregated account of Bermuda special purpose insurer and segregated accounts company Sailfish Re.

The vehicle allows Lockton Re to access broader pools of capital for its clients, said the statement.

Lilypad CEO Ricardo Espino said: “By accessing the capital markets via our inaugural catastrophe bond, we have introduced a new capital source to better protect our policyholders and ensure financial resilience against catastrophic events as we continue to grow our operations.”

Lockton Re Capital Markets head Zach Breslin added: “Koi Re exemplifies how insurers can effectively access the capital markets to manage exposure to natural disasters and is the latest example of Sailfish Re's utility in delivering bespoke funded solutions to address client needs.”

As previously reported, the June 1 Florida renewal was relatively smooth for homeowners insurers, with preliminary data from Gallagher Re pointing to average risk-adjusted rate reductions of just over 10%.

ILS capacity has been a significant participant on Florida cat programs, especially on higher layers.