CALIFORNIA’S STATE FUND RETURNS TO CAT BOND MARKET

California State Compensation Insurance Fund is obtaining more than $150m in fully collateralised reinsurance protection against earthquake events with the launch of the Golden State Re II Ltd catastrophe bond, artemis.bm has reported. The transaction marks State Fund’s second cat bond, following the $200m Golden State Re Ltd deal from December 2011. While the new transaction is expected to be sized at $150m or higher, artemis expects it to complete at $200m or higher - thereby fully replacing the cover from the 2011 deal - owing to the slow time of the year for new cat bond issues. The new deal will provide State Fund with cover until January 2019. As with the 2011 deal, Willis Capital Markets & Advisory is serving as sole structurer and bookrunner, while Risk Management Solutions is the risk modeller and calculation agent.