In its latest Transactional Risk Insurance Report, Marsh reports that it placed transactional risk insurance on behalf of clients on 1,089 transactions in 2018, up 31% compared to 2017. Aggregate limits placed also increased, rising 35% in 2018 to US$36.5 billion, driven by the size and number of transactions across large and mid-market deals in which insurance is used.
Regional findings of the report include:
North America: In 2018, total transactional risk insurance limits placed by Marsh in the US and Canada grew 53% over 2017, to US$16.56 billion. Pricing reductions, larger transactions, and increased utilization by corporate/strategic buyers has spurred an increase in limits purchased and the number of transactions covered.
Latin America: Marsh reports increasing investor interest in transactional risk insurance even though average premium rates are significantly higher than in other regions.
Europe, the Middle East and Africa: Marsh placed transactional risk insurance on 479 transactions in 2018, an increase of 31%. Marsh reported an increase of 26% in total transactional risk insurance limits placed in EMEA in 2018 to US$15.93 billion. Average premium rates increased despite a significant increase in new capacity.
Asia: Last year saw notable growth in the use of transactional risk insurance in South Korea and Greater China, especially warranty and indemnity and tax insurance for real estate transactions.
Pacific: In 2018 there was a significant increase in limits placed over the previous year reflecting a 36.4% increase in deal count and an increase in the number of large transactions using insurance.
“Transactional risk insurance is now firmly established in the M&A marketplace as an important tool that can help mitigate deal risk, evidenced by its widespread adoption among private equity firms and strategic investors globally,” said Karen Beldy Torborg, Global Leader, Private Equity and M&A Services Practice, Marsh JLT Specialty. “Demand for these solutions is on course to remain high throughout the rest of 2019, and we expect the insurance market, now supporting very large limits, to be ready to respond.”