Catastrophe bond issuance hit a record high of more than $11.3 billion in the second quarter of 2026, according to a report by risk transfer news website Artemis.

The 48 transactions recorded was also a record number, and while the majority of issuance came from repeat sponsors, nine new sponsors entered the market — another record.

By June 30, Artemis measured the outstanding catastrophe bond market size as $65.6 billion, up from $61.3 billion at the end of 2025.

Issuance for the first half of 2026 issuance also hit a new high of almost $18 billion, up on last year’s previous record of $17.6 billion.

This year is already the second-largest for issuance, behind only 2025’s record $25.6 billion, Artemis reported.

The growth was achieved amid rate softening in the reinsurance market, with brokers reporting double-digit declines this year.

Brad Adderley, managing partner at law firm Appleby, is quoted in the report as saying the market is becoming increasingly comfortable with catastrophe bonds and ILS.

“There is a lot of investor capital out there waiting to be deployed, and we are seeing a steady influx of new sponsors,” Mr Adderley said.

“On top of that, market participants are increasingly mixing different types of risks together. A few years ago, we primarily saw property-catastrophe deals dominate the space, but now we are regularly seeing cyber and casualty risks being introduced.

“What is really driving this momentum is that people are getting comfortable and the market itself is becoming mainstream.”

The overall process of executing a cat bond had become more smooth and streamlined over the years, he added.

“I don’t hear stories of flawed structures or sponsors being unhappy with how their transactions settled. Instead, I hear the complete opposite.

“This means the cat bond product is doing exactly what it is supposed to do, which is precisely what we want.

“As a direct result of that success, we are seeing more sponsors reliably returning to the market to renew their expiring deals.”