Moore’s Law Comes to R&W Insurance

While attending a recent M&A conference, I was surprised to hear so many of the participants – including PE firms, M&A attorneys, and bankers – still hold the mistaken belief that Representations and Warranty (R&W) insurance is too expensive.

In fact, the floor for R&W coverage has actually come down drastically in the past year to the point that a $5M policy can easily be found and it will cost less than $200K, including underwriting fees and taxes. (This figure doesn’t include broker fees, which the big firms are adding to maintain income levels. More on that below.)

Why the disconnect? These folks haven’t checked in on R&W insurance for a while, and people assume what was true a couple of years ago is still valid. They tend to get their information and updates from conferences. I was happy to spread the good news while I was there, and I got positive response. These folks did not see value in a policy if the cost was $225K, $350K. But if they could get a policy for under $200K, they were interested.

This significant drop in costs reminds me of Moore’s law. Quite appropriate considering how many M&A deals are done in the tech space. This maxim holds that every 18 months we can expect the speed and capability of our computers to double, while we pay less.

There are several reasons why the cost of R&W coverage has dropped:

  • The number of insurers offering R&W insurance has more than doubled.
  • Rates have fallen from the 2.5% to 4% range to the 2% to 2.9% range.
  • Eligibility thresholds have decreased from deals at $75M in transaction value to $10M in transaction value.
  • Falling costs have given rise to more policies being placed.

I expect this trend to hold steady as the increase in R&W policies written has not yet translated into a corresponding increase in paid losses by Underwriters. Due to the simple fact that more policies are out there, reported losses are up. However, most of these cases fall within the policy retentions, so insurers are not having to write many R&W checks to cover damages. Plus, just because they’re writing smaller deals doesn’t mean Underwriters are getting sloppy and accepting just anything. They expect the same due diligence, making the smaller deals just as safe for them as bigger deals.

It should be noted that unlike other discounted insurance products, these low-priced R&W policies provide coverage just as comprehensive as the higher priced alternatives (depending on the complexity of the deal and diligence completed, of course). You’re not getting lower quality coverage or added restrictions just because it’s cheaper.

How Low-Priced R&W Insurance Changes the Game

A sub-$200K priced R&W policy is good for M&A for the following reasons:

1. Lower costs make the value proposition on smaller deals more “palatable” – especially for Sellers where $1M or $2M less in escrow makes a material difference. These folks can’t take a $1M to $2M hit if there is a breach. R&W coverage is a lifesaver for them.

2. Lower priced policies more easily enable Buyers and Sellers to share the costs.

Many Buyers are saying that Sellers want R&W coverage on the deal but don’t want to pay for it. And Buyers are chagrined by that. But if costs are split and it’s under $100K for each side, it’s more favorable, and both sides benefit from having the policy in place.

As you know, this specialized insurance makes negotiations smoother, lets the Seller keep more cash at closing, and ensures that the Buyer doesn’t have to take legal action against the Seller if there is a breach, which is awkward if the Seller’s management team is on board with the new entity.

3. The lower price point makes R&W an affordable tool for add-ons, which are expected to increase as PE firms and Strategics look to enhance the value of their portfolio companies.

With PE firms in particular, thanks to lower cost policy and premium, they won’t just reserve R&W coverage for deals above $100M in transaction value. This lower price justifies using R&W on deals at $30M, which they are doing more of because it’s a lot easier to spend $30M to $50M than $100M. PE firms will transact two to three times more add-ons per year than one big acquisition.

I saw this first-hand recently with a policy I provided here in Silicon Valley. The company brought in a $90M add-on to an existing portfolio company. The $5M limit R&W policy cost just $175K (including underwriting fees and taxes).

Overall, with the lower price for an R&W policy, cost is no longer an objection for either party to consider a policy.

What’s Ahead

If R&W continues its stellar performance, expect to see even fewer exclusions and possibly lower retention levels.

But how much lower can the price go? Not much further if R&W insurance is to be sustainable. If the product gets too cheap insurers will not be able to collect enough in premiums to pay claims.

We’d caution prospective users to be wary of policies coming in under $100K.

One observation from this drop in premium rates is that the major insurance brokers offering R&W coverage have reacted to this price drop (which they’ve had to go along with to stay competitive) by adding broker fees of as much as $25K. These big firms have big overheads and want to protect their profit margin.

That’s where a boutique firm like Rubicon Insurance Services shines. In this segment of small market M&A deals, we take a back seat to nobody. We can broker policies more cost effectively and more efficiently because we don’t have the overhead. We won’t charge those broker fees.

I’m happy to provide you with more information on R&W insurance and provide you with a quote. Please contact me, Patrick Stroth, at pstroth@rubiconins.com.

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