catastrophe bond
A catastrophe bond is a derivative debt investment vehicle issued by insurers and reinsurers designed to raise investor capital to cover catastrophic loss events.
Additional Information
"Cat" bonds are issued to cover either a specifically identified event (e.g., a Japanese earthquake) or the possibility of a certain magnitude of loss associated with hurricane activity in a particular geographic location (e.g., the Texas Gulf Coast). Unlike traditional reinsurance that is highly leveraged (i.e., reinsurance limits sold represent many multiples of a reinsurer's capital), "cat" bonds carry no such leverage since their value is equal to the amount of insurance limits for sale.
Synonyms
cat bond
