The Travelers Companies Inc. will start offering transactional risk insurance in the United States, through a new partnership with a managing general underwriter. AXA’s AXA XL Insurance is now extending its in-house professional liability underwriting expertise to law firms of all sizes.

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The Travelers Companies, Inc. is partnering with ASQ Underwriting, a managing general underwriter, to offer transactional risk insurance in the United States.

Under the agreement, ASQ Underwriting will underwrite transactional risk policies for Travelers, with an initial gross capacity of $50 million per transaction. Travelers will manage the claims process in close coordination with ASQ Underwriting.

Transactional risk insurance covers risks related to mergers and acquisitions, including representations and warranties insurance, tax liability insurance and contingent liability insurance. These policies can reduce the funds required to be held in escrow and provide risk transfer options for contingencies identified during due diligence, helping buyers and sellers close deals more efficiently and with more certainty.

ASQ Underwriting has offices in Atlanta and New York and is led by Directors and Co-founders Jeff Anderson and Wayne Datz. The firm provides unique transactional risk insurance products to clients in the mergers and acquisitions market.

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AXA’s AXA XL Insurance is extending its in-house professional liability underwriting expertise to law firms of all sizes, including defense firms.

This extension provides comprehensive errors & omission protection against malpractice claims, plus coverage for licensing and disciplinary proceedings. AXA XL has also expanded the product offering to make both primary and excess coverage available – either on an admitted or surplus lines basis — depending on the law firm’s needs.

AXA XL Insurance’s Errors & Omission coverage for law firms includes a broad definition of professional services. Other coverage features include a broad definition of insured to include independent contractors, per diem lawyers and of counsels; mutual choice of counsel; punitive damages coverage where permitted by law; up to $25,000 defense costs for disciplinary proceedings; and multiple extended reporting period (tail) options.

Sources: Travelers, AXA XL