Catastrophe bond issuance has climbed to record levels, driven by renewals and new sponsors entering the market, according to the latest Aon Securities report.

Issuance reached $US6.38 billion ($8.04 billion) across 20 transactions in the three months ended June, surpassing the previous quarterly record of $US4.49 billion ($5.66 billion) in the corresponding period of 2014.

The sharp jump took first-half issuance to $US8.55 billion ($10.78 billion), topping the previous record annual issuance of $US8.38 billion ($10.57 billion) in 2007.

“We saw a large amount of maturing limit being renewed, which contributed to the record-breaking issuance figures,” Aon Securities CEO Paul Schultz said.

“However, there was still a significant expansion in the overall market, as a result of new sponsors, favourable pricing, and the ability of alternative capital to provide high levels of market capacity.”

All Aon insurance-linked securities (ILS) indices posted gains in the quarter, with the All Bond index rising 1.06% and the US Hurricane Bond index up 1.14%.

The Aon ILS indices performed with mixed results relative to benchmarks.