Aon plc, the global professional services firm specialising in risk, health and wealth solutions, has released its 2026 Global M&A and Transaction Solutions Claims Study, highlighting growing claim values, increasing notification activity and record levels of recoveries across the mergers and acquisitions insurance market.
Drawing on Aon’s proprietary claims data, the report analyses nearly 2,000 claims and more than $3 billion in recoveries secured worldwide since the launch of its transaction solutions practice.
According to Aon, the findings reflect continued growth and increasing maturity across Representations and Warranties (R&W), Warranty and Indemnity (W&I), Tax and Contingent Risk insurance markets.
Stephen Davidson, Global Head of Transaction Solutions Claims at Aon, commented: “The global claims environment is evolving rapidly, as rising claim frequency, increasing severity and shifting notification patterns impact the M&A insurance landscape.
“At the same time, the market continues to demonstrate the value of high-quality underwriting data, sophisticated analytics and close partnership between insurers, brokers and clients to proactively manage risk before a deal is signed and achieve fair and efficient outcomes when claims do arise.”
Aon reported that clients in North America recovered more than $1 billion under transaction solutions policies during 2025, including over $440 million through R&W insurance. The firm stated that this represented a record level of recoveries.
The study found that larger claims are becoming increasingly common in North America. Aon noted that a greater share of losses now exceed 60% of policy limits, while claims reaching the full value of available cover are also becoming more frequent. Around 4% of claims involved alleged losses above $100 million. Claims calculated using valuation multiples represented 68% of all paid losses during 2025, according to the firm.
Aon also identified a sharp increase in average settlement sizes. Median R&W claim payments exceeded $8.2 million in 2025, compared with $5.5 million a year earlier. The firm said this reflects more complex post-acquisition disputes and greater sophistication in the use of transaction risk insurance.
Across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Aon recorded a notable increase in claims activity. Notifications rose from 70 in 2024 to 119 in 2025, while insurer data showed that notifications were submitted on 21% of policies placed across the market in 2023. Aon also observed a rise in earlier-stage notifications, with claims reported on 9.5% of Aon-placed policies by the end of 2025, indicating that claims are emerging across a broader period of the policy lifecycle.
In the Asia-Pacific region, Aon reported continued growth in W&I and tax-related notifications across Australia, New Zealand and wider Asian markets. While notification volumes are increasing, the firm noted that claims rates remain uneven across the region as transaction risk products continue to develop in different markets.
The report also examined the causes of claims across major regions. In North America, compliance with laws remained the most common source of notifications, accounting for more than 20% of all reported matters. Material contracts, financial statements and tax-related issues each represented more than 10% of notifications.
Financial statement breaches generated the largest share of paid losses, accounting for 38% of the total. Aon also reported a rise in intellectual property-related losses, which increased from approximately 5% of total losses between 2019 and 2024 to around 10% in 2025.
Within EMEA, tax-related matters generated the highest number of notifications, representing more than 20% of cases. Aon said this largely reflects routine tax audits and reviews across the region and does not typically result in significant losses. Financial statement breaches accounted for a similar proportion of notifications but remained the primary driver of paid claims. In APAC, disclosure-related issues continued to be the most frequently reported breach category.
Additional findings from Aon showed that 51% of North American claims were submitted more than 12 months after deal completion, extending the trend towards later reporting. Claims valued at more than $10 million represented approximately 41% of North American payments during 2025, compared with 27% in 2024.
Aon also noted that claims activity is continuing to increase as the use of R&W and W&I insurance becomes more widespread and buyers gain greater familiarity with the protection available against risks that may not be identified during due diligence.
While tax insurance remains a relatively low-frequency product from a claims perspective, Aon reported that more than $350 million has been recovered for North American clients through negotiated resolutions with tax authorities.
