Aon plc, a global professional services firm specializing in risk, health and wealth solutions, has released its 2026 Global M&A and Transaction Solutions Claims Study, highlighting growing claims values, increasing notification activity and record recovery levels across the M&A insurance market.
The report leverages Aon’s proprietary claims data to analyze nearly 2,000 claims and more than $3 billion in recoveries worldwide since the launch of the Transaction Solutions practice.
Aon said the findings reflected the continued growth and increasing maturity of the representations and warranties (R&W), warranties and indemnity (W&I), tax and contingent risk insurance markets.
Stephen Davidson, Global Head of Claims at Aon Transaction Solutions, commented: “The global claims environment is evolving rapidly, with claims increasing in frequency, severity and notification patterns changing, impacting 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 collaboration between insurers, brokers and clients to proactively manage risk before a deal is signed and achieve fair and efficient outcomes when claims occur.”
Aon reported that North American clients recovered more than $1 billion through Transaction Solutions policies in 2025, including more than $440 million through R&W Insurance. The company said this represents a record level of recycling.
The study found that larger claims are becoming more common in North America. Aon noted that most losses now exceed 60% of policy limits, and claims reaching the full value of available insurance are becoming more frequent. Approximately 4% of claims involved losses in excess of US$100 million. According to the company, claims calculated using valuation multiples accounted for 68% of all paid losses in 2025.
Aon also found a sharp increase in average settlement size. Median R&W claim payments exceeded $8.2 million in 2025, compared with $5.5 million a year earlier. The company said this reflected greater complexity in post-acquisition disputes and the use of transaction risk insurance.
Aon saw a significant increase in claims activity in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The number of notices increased from 70 in 2024 to 119 in 2025, while insurance company data showed that 21% of policies on the market had notices submitted in 2023. Aon also observed an increase in the number of early notifications, with 9.5% of policies insured by Aon reporting claims at the end of 2025, indicating that claims arise over a wider period of the policy life cycle.
In Asia Pacific, Aon reported continued growth in W&I and tax-related notifications across Australia, New Zealand and the wider Asian market. Despite the increasing number of notifications, the company noted that claims rates remain uneven across the region as transaction risk products continue to evolve in different markets.
The report also examines the causes of claims in key regions. In North America, legal compliance continues to be the most common source of notifications, accounting for more than 20% of all reported matters. Major contracts, financial statements and tax-related issues all accounted for more than 10% of the number of notifications.
Compensated losses caused by irregularities in financial statements accounted for the largest proportion, accounting for 38% of the total. Aon also reported an increase in intellectual property-related losses, from approximately 5% of total losses from 2019 to 2024 to approximately 10% in 2025.
In the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, tax-related matters generated the largest number of notices, accounting for more than 20% of the total number of cases. Aon said this largely reflects routine tax audits and reviews in the region, which typically do not result in significant losses. Financial statement violations accounted for a similar proportion of notifications but remained the primary driver of paid claims. In Asia Pacific, disclosure-related issues continue to be the most commonly reported category of breaches.
Other Aon findings show that 51% of North American claims are filed more than 12 months after deal completion, continuing a trend of delayed reporting. Claims worth more than $10 million will account for approximately 41% of North American payments in 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 become more familiar 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 reports that it has recovered more than $350 million for North American clients through negotiated settlements with tax authorities.
