QBE Re makes casualty sidecar debut with $550m facility

QBE Re, the reinsurance arm of global insurer QBE, has entered the casualty sidecar market with the launch of a $550 million quota share reinsurance facility, adding fresh third-party capital to support cedant demand.

The George Street Re sidecar reinsures a portion of QBE Re’s global casualty reinsurance portfolio, providing additional capacity for QBE Re’s core cedants.

QBE group CFO Chris Killourhy said: “We are excited to announce the successful completion of our inaugural casualty sidecar, George Street Re. The transaction leverages our Bermuda platform, QBE Capital, and is designed to be adaptive to our business needs while building new long-term partnerships with alternative capital providers.”

George Street Re is backed by institutional investors Culpeper Capital Partners and Calidris Investment Partners, as well as global specialty reinsurer Compre, which participated in a defined portion of the sidecar.

Rachel Bardon, Compre chief underwriting officer, said: “George Street Re represents a high-quality application of third-party capital to global casualty reinsurance. Our participation reflects Compre’s growing appetite for low-volatility, long-tailed underwriting lines and our ability to support structures that balance long-term risk transfer with forward exit flexibility for capital providers.”

Nick Hankin, managing director of QBE Re, said: “Thanks to the support of our new partners, we will be able to meet a continued growth in demand from our cedants whilst maintaining an optimal net portfolio and diversifying our sources of capital.”

Quentin Perrot, GC Securities, Managing Director, said: “We are delighted to have assisted QBE Re in their first casualty sidecar transaction. The quality of the QBE Re portfolio allowed us to engage positively with leading insurance investors that had the experience and sophistication necessary to negotiate a successful transaction for all parties.”

QBE is going big on third-party capital as it enters 2026. On Monday (January 5, 2026), it announced its second issuance under the Bridge Street Re catastrophe bond programme, providing $400 million protection against earthquakes in Australasia and the US. In addition, Bridge Street Re Series 2025-2 Notes cover US named storms.

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