The listing of Mangrove Property Insurance Company’s inaugural catastrophe bond on the Bermuda Stock Exchange has been celebrated with a bell-ringing ceremony at Exchange House on Pitts Bay Road.

Buttonwood Re was one of a record 775 new ILS vehicles listed during the first six months of the year.

“All of our listed issuers represent about 95.4 per cent of global issuances,” BSX president and chief executive Greg Wojciechowski said. “That really underpins the importance of Bermuda as a centre of excellence for the creation and listing of global ILS securities.”

Buttonwood Re, a Bermuda special-purpose insurer established by Mangrove, issued $111 million of Series 2026-1 principal-at-risk variable-rate notes in May.

The three-year transaction provides the Florida homeowners insurer with fully collateralised reinsurance protection against named storms. It comprises four tranches, with three providing per-occurrence protection and the fourth providing annual aggregate protection.

Mr Wojciechowski congratulated Mangrove founder and CEO Steve Weinstein for making Bermuda Buttonwood Re’s home, then presented him with a trophy as a token of appreciation.

Before ringing the bell, Mr Weinstein said some people were surprised when Mangrove launched its first cat bond in its second year of operations.

“We surprised no one by choosing Bermuda as the domicile for the cat bond, and the BSX as the exchange to launch it,” he said. “Bermuda has been, is now, and will be the global risk capital, the capital of convergence and the best place in the world to launch an ILS vehicle like Buttonwood.”

He said that Mangrove was doing things for the long term.

“You can expect to see us as a participant of BSX for the years to come,” he said.

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approved Mangrove’s certificate of authority to provide property and casualty coverage in Florida on January 15, 2025. It was approved to participate in the April assumption of policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.

Mr Weinstein is an insurance and reinsurance executive with an extensive background in Florida’s property insurance markets.

For almost two decades, he served as a senior executive and executive committee member with Bermuda reinsurer Renaissance Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurance companies, with a particular emphasis on the Florida market.

In that capacity, he served on numerous boards including the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Insurance Council, Associated Industries of Florida and R Street Institute.

Mr Weinstein continues to be involved in the global and Bermuda reinsurance markets, which are critical to the stability of the Florida market, serving as chair of Itasca Re Ltd., a Bermuda specialty reinsurer, chair of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, and is the immediate past chair of the Bermuda Business Development Agency.