Mosaic Insurance has begun underwriting transactional liability coverage in the United States amid what it says is a current upsurge in mergers and acquisitions activity.

The Bermudian-based global speciality insurer, launched in February, said it offers a lead market on M&A coverage.

Mosaic said it will deploy a maximum initial capacity of $25 million per risk and expects to increase that amount to match demand.

Its product line includes representations and warranties insurance, which it says is a staple for private equity and strategic buyers and sellers in M&A deals, including stock and asset purchases, mergers, restructurings, recapitalisations, and other structures.

Mitch Blaser, Mosaic co-founder and co-CEO, said: “The transactional liability business has been a cornerstone of our speciality strategy from the start.

“Our leadership and M&A team are known for their deep expertise and a market-leading heritage in this field – and the timing couldn’t be better, with current appetites and opportunities for acquisitions on the rise.”

William Monat, Mosaic’s global head of M&A, joined the company in April after more than 20 years in the transactional risk insurance sector as an underwriter, broker and lawyer, including a decade as head of Willis Towers Watson’s M&A practice in North America.

He said: “We’re excited to enter the market at a time when there’s a real need for both additional underwriting capacity and deep experience in this sphere.

“The upswing in deal activity began late last year and continues to heat up, thanks to available capital, motivated buyers and sellers, and significant pent-up demand.

“We look forward to building our M&A portfolio, starting in the US, and expanding globally later this year.”

Mosaic said it is growing a highly experienced M&A underwriting team in the US, based in New York under the leadership of Mr Monat, Stavan Desai, and Katherine Spenner.

The company said it has a team of seven M&A specialists and plans to hire additional talent in the coming months.

Mosaic said Mr Desai, SVP, M&A team leader, guides the company’s underwriting team in North America. Previously, he was a senior M&A underwriter for AIG and served as a senior attorney at Schulte Roth & Zabel, where he concentrated on private equity, M&A, leveraged buyouts, and alternative asset management deals.

The company said Ms Spenner, SVP, chief legal officer, M&A, leads product development and underwriting execution across the M&A insurance portfolio at Mosaic. She most recently served as chief underwriting officer for the transaction liability group at Everest Insurance, after nearly a decade representing public and private-equity M&A clients at White & Case and Torys.

Mr Desai said: “We see immediate opportunity to provide tailored solutions for middle-market M&A transactions which can be lost in the shuffle of unprecedented deal volume in the US. The sector is on track for a record-setting year of private-equity and strategic deal activity.”

Mosaic combines Lloyd’s Syndicate 1609 with a wholly-owned syndicated capital management agency and underwriting hubs in Bermuda, London, the US, and Asia.

The company said it focuses on complex speciality lines of business and has launched underwriting teams to date in cybersecurity, political violence, political risk, professional liability and financial institutions lines.