MS Amlin grows Phoenix Re sidecar to $90m for 2025

Re/insurer MS Amlin has again returned to the capital markets for a fifth renewal of its collateralized catastrophe quota share reinsurance sidecar vehicle Phoenix Re and it takes the sidecar platform to its largest yet at $90 million for 2025.

It’s the fifth consecutive year where MS Amlin has leveraged capital market investor support to source catastrophe retrocession through a renewed quota share arrangement via a Phoenix Re reinsurance sidecar vehicle.

The first Phoenix sidecar deal for the 2021 underwriting year was $42.14 million in size, while the second issuance that used the Phoneix 2 Re SPRV saw the arrangement shrink slightly to $37.5 million for the 2022 underwriting year.

For 2023, MS Amlin sponsored its third capital market arrangement that provides it with Asian property catastrophe retrocessional protection, upsizing the collateralised reinsurance sidecar arrangement, as Phoenix 3 Re Pte. Ltd. came out at $45 million in size.

Then, for 2024, in renewing Phoenix 2 Re, MS Amlin secured a further $35.25 million in retrocessional protection from its Asia catastrophe risk focused sidecar program, lifting the total sidecar protection to almost $87.5 million.

Now, for 2025, the Phoenix Re reinsurance sidecar platform has been renewed to provide $90 million of capital support, so the largest total protection yet.

While the size of the new issuance has not been disclosed, it seems to imply a 2025 Phoenix 3 Re issuance of between $50 million and $52.5 million of notes (with some protection still in-force from prior year issues), which would be the largest single issuance yet.

This year, the Phoenix 3 Re Pte. Ltd. Singapore based special purpose reinsurance vehicle has been utilised for the renewal.

MS Amlin said that strong performance of the strategy and rising investor interest in accessing Asia’s large and diverse pool of catastrophe risks helped it to uplift the structure year-on-year.

The Phoenix Re sidecar platform provides investors with diversification across more than 150 layers annually across APAC and MENA, which MS Amlin notes functions similarly to a portfolio of catastrophe bonds.

William Ho, CEO of MS Amlin Asia Pacific, commented “The successful renewal of our multiple Phoenix Re investment vehicles – our fifth in the series – demonstrates the growing appetite among investors for Asian catastrophe risks. Since launching Phoenix Re five years ago, we have more than doubled the available capacity, enabling us to better support local cedents and help address the region’s substantial protection gap.

“Our Phoenix strategy has absorbed a number of regional loss events, including floods, earthquakes and super typhoons, while supporting clients and delivering consistent returns. Last year, Phoenix Re achieved returns more than 11.5%, reflecting our disciplined approach to underwriting and deep understanding of Asian risks.

“With diverse economies, a substantial protection gap, and growing investor base, Asia is well-positioned to emerge as a global hub for insurance-linked securities (ILS). Phoenix reflects our desire to develop a sustainable ILS market in Asia, and provide a gateway for investors to the region.”

In a video interview with Artemis last year, William Ho explained that the ambition at MS Amlin is to continue expanding the Phoenix Re sidecar platform.

HSZ Group provided both structuring services and acted as a cornerstone co-investor for the Phoenix Re renewal transaction, as the firm has for all the previous deals.

Tim Yip, Executive Director of HSZ Group, said, “We are delighted to see continued growth in interest for MS Amlin’s Asia Pacific portfolio, which offers ILS managers like us a unique opportunity to access this diverse and rapidly expanding region in a way that complements our portfolios seamlessly.

“Advances in data and modelling, combined with the portfolio’s strong performance over the past five years despite significant events, highlight the value of partnering with one of the region’s leading reinsurance underwriters. This collaboration has given investors like us increasing confidence in navigating this vast, diverse, and traditionally challenging market in a manner that aligns well with our ILS strategies.”

For details of many reinsurance sidecar investments and transactions over the history of the ILS market, view our comprehensive list of collateralized reinsurance sidecars transactions.