In response to growing industry demands, Mosaic Insurance, a specialty insurer focused on cyber risk and financial institutions, has strengthened its North American and international transaction tax liability teams.
The expansion includes the promotion of one specialist and the recent addition of four new tax risk professionals.
Bill Monat, global head of transaction liability at Mosaic, said: “The growth of our global tax business is a strategic priority for Mosaic and we will further build our market-leading underwriting capabilities to meet the needs of this growing industry.
“This product category requires deep expertise to assess risk, and we are excited to have more distinguished experts join our team.”
With the new additions, Mosaic’s tax team now consists of nine experts who specialize in a range of M&A-related and stand-alone tax risks – a product that compensates policyholders for financial losses, providing certainty during the transaction process.
The group operates on a unified global platform, excels in handling complex tax matters, benefits from a diverse network of insurance service providers, including Mosaic’s Lloyd’s Group and other reputable insurers, and is further supported by the company’s skilled claims team.
JHeather Eskey has joined Mosaic USA as senior vice president, focusing on tax risk in North America.
Eskey brings extensive underwriting expertise and previously led Chubb’s transaction risk tax group. Her background also includes experience as a tax attorney at leading international legal and accounting firms and as in-house corporate tax counsel for AIG.
Caleb Smith also joins the firm’s New York office as vice president of tax liability. He previously worked as a tax attorney at the New York City law firm of Davis Polk Wardwell LLP, where he advised on the U.S. and international tax consequences of corporate transactions. Prior to law school, he spent several years working in Washington, D.C., in various public policy roles.
“The North American tax insurance market continues to grow as taxpayers seek transaction certainty during uncertain times,” said Jon Hutchens, global head of transaction liability tax at Mosaic. “Now is the perfect time to bring Heather to our team as she brings years of deep tax underwriting and consulting expertise. We are equally excited to bring Caleb to the market, which will position us well to meet current and future needs for solutions tailored to policyholder needs.”
Ze’ev Deutsch joins Mosaic’s New York office in 2022 and has been promoted to Senior Vice President of the Tax team.
Previously, he was an attorney at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, where he specialized in U.S. and Canadian tax risk assessments, covering areas such as renewable energy tax credits, inbound investment income characteristics, and historical tax positions in public mergers and acquisitions.
Former KPMG tax attorney vice president Roktim Kaushik also assisted the New York team.
Additionally, in the UK, Mosaic’s international tax underwriting team welcomed Senior Vice President Byron Thomas and AVP Li Hong Gosen as tax underwriters.
Thomas is a barrister who previously led Themis Underwriting’s international tax underwriting team. Previously, he spent more than a decade as an international and M&A tax advisor at Ernst & Young, most recently as a London director.
Gosen began working in tax underwriting after working as an M&A tax lawyer with KPMG and EY in the Netherlands and London, specializing in cross-border structures and transactions for listed, large and mid-market companies.
“I am excited about the growth of our international tax team,” said Greg Branagan, senior vice president and head of international tax, transaction liabilities. “Byron and Li Hong are top tax professionals who are a perfect fit for our underwriting ethos and will help our team continue to grow in the global tax insurance market.”
