M&A Advisor Professional Indemnity Insurance

M&A advisor Professional Indemnity insurance covers the advice and work an M&A or merger and acquisition adviser provides on a transaction - origination, valuations, financial modelling, due diligence support, the information memorandum and deal execution. It responds when a buyer, seller or other party alleges your professional work was negligent and caused them a financial loss, and it funds the legal cost of defending that allegation, including claims that are ultimately unproven.

No, and the distinction matters. 'M&A insurance' usually means warranty and indemnity (W&I) or transaction liability cover, which sits on the deal and responds to a breach of the representations and warranties the seller gives the buyer. Professional Indemnity sits on you, the adviser, and responds to allegations that your advice or work was negligent. This page is about the adviser's PI. See our corporate advisor PI hub for the full comparison.

The limit is driven by the size of the transactions you advise on, not your fee income. A single error on a deal can flow into a loss many times your engagement fee, so M&A advisory PI limits sit high - commonly $5M, $10M or $20M. Counterparties, lenders and engagement mandates often specify the exact limit you must hold to act. See our guide to high-limit and contract-required PI.

PI responds to negligence in your professional work. It does not insure the commercial outcome of the deal itself, it does not respond to fraud or intentional wrongdoing, and it does not pick up the warranties given by a seller (that is what W&I cover is for). Known claims or circumstances you have not disclosed to the insurer are also excluded. We review your scope so the wording responds to the work you actually do on a transaction.

Often, yes. M&A and corporate advisory work sits outside the appetite of most generalist PI insurers, so generalist markets frequently step back or exclude the M&A activity. That reflects one market's appetite, not the whole market. We map the specialist financial-lines underwriters who actively write this class and present the submission the way they need to see it. See declined and hard-to-place PI.

Typically your advisory activities and the split between them, your fee income, the size of the largest transaction you advise on, your claims and circumstances history, your current insurer and limit, the retroactive date you need to preserve, any AFSL or authorised-representative status, and the limit your mandate or counterparty requires. Having this ready lets us approach the specialist market quickly when a deadline is close.