Close · Insurance Brokerage

Representation & Warranty Insurance for Insurance Brokerage Independent Sponsors

Securities and M&A counsel for independent sponsors structuring insurance brokerage transactions, from LOI to close to the capital markets that open up afterward.

EV range $10M to $150M EV EBITDA $3M to $25M Audience Buy-side / Sponsor
The deal context

The economics on a insurance brokerage platform deal usually hinge on a handful of structural decisions. Representation & Warranty Insurance is one of them.

The typical insurance brokerage platform sits at $10M to $150M EV with EBITDA in the $3M to $25M range. The thesis runs on regional retail agency roll-ups. Producer non-competes are unenforceable in too many states to ignore. Plan retention, not litigation.

The moves

How Representation & Warranty Insurance actually gets structured.

  1. Get to non-binding indication within two weeks of LOI sign, with carrier diligence to follow.

  2. Negotiate retention to 0.5 percent of EV, dropping to 0.25 percent after 12 months.

  3. Confirm policy follows form on the purchase agreement, not the other way around.

  4. Carve out tax indemnities and known liabilities, priced separately if needed.

  5. In insurance brokerage, layer in E&O tail insurance priced and bound as part of the Representation & Warranty Insurance workstream.

The common mistake

Treating R&W as a commodity. Carrier appetite varies sharply by industry and deal size.

Jason's take
"R&W is no longer optional on most independent sponsor deals over $20M. Price it into the LOI."
Jason Powell · Representation & Warranty Insurance
Capital after close

The deal is one thing. The capital that opens up after close is another.

After close, the call list for refinancing, recapitalization, and growth equity gets short and known. Jason carries that list.

MONTH 18
Senior refi
MONTH 24
Dividend recap
MONTH 36
Growth equity
YEAR 4–5
Strategic exit
TALK TO JASON

An LOI on the desk, a insurance brokerage target, and a Representation & Warranty Insurance question worth a real conversation.

Twenty minutes of practitioner-grade input from a securities attorney whose first move is to read the deal, not the engagement letter.