Marsh, a global firm specialising in risk, insurance, and consulting services, reports that the transactional risk insurance market experienced a notable change in 2025, with pricing increasing after several years of decline.
Marsh states that primary representations and warranties (R&W) insurance rates rose across most regions during the year, reversing a three-year trend of falling premiums. The firm links this shift to higher levels of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity alongside an increase in claims.
According to Marsh, North America saw the most pronounced rise, with average primary R&W premium rates increasing by 16% year-over-year in 2025, compared with a 14% decline in 2024. In Asia, rates rose by 8% following a 24% decrease the previous year.
The firm also highlights that global M&A activity reached elevated levels, with total deal value approaching $5 trillion in 2025. Deal values increased by 37% compared with 2024, while deal count grew by 12%. This growth was largely driven by larger transactions, including 70 deals valued above $10 billion—an 81% increase year-over-year—and 617 deals exceeding $1 billion.
Alongside this activity, Marsh reports that both the frequency and severity of claims increased. The United Kingdom recorded historically high levels of notifications and payouts, while Europe saw claims double and Asia experienced notable growth. In North America, notifications declined slightly, but total loss payments reached a record high.
Marsh further notes that it placed $91.6 billion in transactional risk insurance limits globally in 2025, representing a 34% increase, across more than 3,800 policies and nearly 1,800 transactions. The firm also reports strong growth in tax insurance, with policy numbers rising by 82% in North America. In Europe, policy volumes increased by more than 50%, while insured limits more than doubled compared with the previous year.
Finally, Marsh indicates a continued shift in buyer composition. For the third year in a row, a larger share of transactional risk insurance programmes was arranged for corporate and strategic buyers (53%) than for private equity firms (47%), suggesting an ongoing change in market dynamics.
