Jason Bolding, CEO of Gallagher Securities and global head of ILS at Gallagher Re, sees an enlarged role for brokers in dealing with the flourishing insurance-linked securities business, the Intelligent Insurer reports.

The publication’s offshoot focused on this week’s Rendez-Vous de Septembre, Monte Carlo Today, spoke to Mr Bolding about the launch of Arthur Re, Gallagher Re’s new Bermuda-domiciled platform designed to streamline the issuance process for index-based catastrophe bonds.

Arthur Re is an unrestricted special purpose insurer and segregated accounts company first used in June for the $150 million Quercian Re cat bond for Oak Global.

Following that, there were two other deals in short order: Tranquil Re for Nectaris Re Ltd, a reinsurer backed by funds from Leadenhall Capital Partners and Woody Re, for the Fidelis Partnership linked Syndicate 3123 at Lloyd’s, both worth $75 million.

Mr Bolding said: “The fact that we have completed three transactions from a standing start demonstrates that there is untapped demand for greater efficiency.

He told Monte Carlo Today: “We wanted to create Arthur Re to reduce the friction involved in bringing index-based catastrophe bonds to market.

“Arthur Re has demonstrated that there is demand for simpler, faster and more efficient routes to capital-markets capacity. That is evidence that the market needs these tools to help clients access capital more efficiently and thoughtfully.”

Mr Bolding said that the growing cat bond market, which had another record first six months this year ($17.5 billion) is not too far away from a $100 billion year.

He was quoted by the publication as saying: “We have seen record year after record year; every year seems to be bigger than the last. But beyond the size, what matters is the maturity: there is broader sponsor access and growing investor demand. The story is not just about record issuance; it is about a market that has matured.”

He believes that the increasing use of such specialised structures will grow the role of the broker to help insurers decide between traditional reinsurance and capital market solutions.