The California Earthquake Authority, through its Bermudian-based special purpose insurer Ursa Re Ltd, has issued a $500 million cat bond to cover earthquake risk in California.

The Series 2016-1 Class A notes will run for three years and become due on December 10, 2019. The cat bond has been admitted to the Bermuda Stock Exchange’s official list.

The earthquake authority also issued cat bonds through Ursa Re in 2014 and 2015.

Within the next 30 years southern California is expected to be hit by an earthquake on the scale of the 1906 quake that destroyed most of San Francisco and killed 3,000 people, according to Thomas Heaton, of CalTech’s Earthquake Engineering Research Laboratory.

The most recent major earthquake in the region was the Northridge quake in 1994, which left more than 50 people dead and caused property damage of $4.7 billion.