Harneys and dropRWA plan tokenized catastrophe bonds

Bermuda-based insurance law firm Harneys and tokenization platform dropRWA plan to issue tokenized catastrophe bonds in early 2027, with each token representing legal ownership of the underlying bond. The structure is being considered with smaller beneficial interests in mind, potentially widening access beyond the $250,000+ minimums typical of conventional cat bonds — while still subject to securities, insurance and investor-protection rules.

• Natural disasters caused $220 billion in economic losses last year, but insurance covered only $107 billion, per Swiss Re; in Asia-Pacific, 91% of 2023 disaster losses were uninsured, per the OECD.
• The catastrophe-bond market reached $65.6 billion outstanding in June, with Q2 issuance of $11.3 billion — the largest quarterly total on record, per Artemis.
• Harneys and dropRWA point to risks like flood cover and typhoon protection in Southeast Asia that conventional reinsurers struggle to price.

Executives caution tokenization won't make disasters cheaper or guarantee lower premiums. The argument is that an onchain ownership record and smaller units can bring more capital into a market built to absorb extreme losses.