By Chris Munro

June 23 - (The Insurer) - Kingstone Companies has placed its 2025/26 catastrophe reinsurance program and added $160 million of limit in response to the significant growth in premium and exposure booked by the northeastern U.S.-focused P&C carrier over the past year.

The Kingston, New York-based company’s cat cover runs from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, and now extends to $440 million, and includes $125 million of multi-year protection sourced through its inaugural catastrophe bond, 1886 Re Ltd.

In a statement issued early on Monday, Kingstone CEO Meryl Golden said the company had renewed its cat program “with favourable economic terms”, with overall costs up by just 10%.

“The catastrophe program cost is approximately 12% of projected direct premiums earned, down from 13% for the previous treaty period,” explained Golden.

“Additionally, the total cost for catastrophe coverage was below our expectations and savings will positively impact our projected diluted EPS by $0.11 for the initial six months of the treaty (ie, July 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025).

“Comparable savings benefits will be seen for the remainder of the treaty as well,” Golden added.

The increase in the cat limit purchased comes after Kingstone’s core business increased its direct premiums written (DPW) by 31.4% year on year to $232.2 million in 2024.

That growth has continued into 2025, with the carrier’s Q1 2025 DPW up by 22.7% when compared with the prior year period to $57.2 million.

According to Golden, 25 reinsurers participated in Kingstone’s newly renewed cat program.

“Their continued confidence underscores the quality of our underwriting and our disciplined approach to risk management,” she said.

“With our reinsurance placement now successfully completed, we are well-positioned to continue our profitable growth strategy and deliver sustainable long-term value to our shareholders,” Golden added.