Devonshire’s international transactional risk roadshow continues. Following on from the previous success of our visits to Mumbai and Stockholm, the Devonshire Goes Global series grand tour continued in early July, this time with a trip to a major insurance hub, Madrid.
A team from Devonshire travelled to the Spanish capital to explore the transactional liability market and the broking landscape – an area that Devonshire has considerable experience and expertise in.
When Devonshire launched back in April 2024 its aim was to specialise in underwriting challenging transactional risks, and our expansion into the European market in June 2024 further cemented that ambition.
Devonshire has continued to see growth in the transactional liability market across Europe, the Spanish market for this line of business in particular has continued to flourish significantly and is experiencing a busy summer.
Upward trends
Transactional liability insurance is seeing an exponential uptick in Spain according to DAC Beachcroft – while these policies were involved in around 15% of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in 2014, during 2024 it surged to nearly 50% of M&A transactions.
Transactional liability insurance is now being used in the most significant M&A transactions, but also in those under €50,000,000. This is due to greater interest in the commercialisation of the product with insurers beginning to sell these policies as well as specialist agents. There has also been greater competition leading to a reduction in premiums, subsequently making this line more accessible.
Madrid as a region represents the core of Spain’s transactional liability insurance market driven by a robust M&A ecosystem, as well as a growing demand for Warranty and Indemnity (W&I) insurance and tax liability cover. In addition to this the maturing broking and underwriting infrastructure, increasing product availability and premium competitiveness.
On a global level the transactional risk insurance market rose sharply in 2024, Marsh placed $67.8bn of coverage across over 2,750 policies, up from 2023 which stood at 38%.
Meanwhile, claims rose by 30% that same year in Europe including Spain, with many insurers deploying capital to this one line.
Spain is mirroring this momentum by increasing its awareness in the value of and risk mitigation in M&A.
There are also a growing number of LatAm deals coming into the market via brokers in Spain, which Devonshire has a keen interest and experience in. .
On top of this more and more contingent risks are coming to the market including a number of permitting risks.
Lastly, real estate in the region is another area that Devonshire is seeing a considerable uptick in 2025. GlobalData reported that general insurance Gross Written Premium (GWP) reached €45.7bn in 2024, and is expected to rise to €56.6bn by 2028, driven by property insurance.
Coupled with Madrid’s growing insurtech sector, technology continues to accelerate across the region with significant growth in software development, cybersecurity and data science. The Spanish government’s Digital Spain 2025 agenda is heavily invested in the tech sector with the intention to focus on digital transformation and creating jobs in Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, cloud computing and DevOps.
Stay tuned for the next chapter in Devonshire Goes Global, as we continue to meet clients, forge connections, and grow our reach across the world’s most dynamic M&A markets.
