Obtaining a quote costs nothing and is very quick. Please visit Quotes.

You can also get a quote for tax insurance by contacting your insurance broker and providing our contact details. We can recommend a specialist tax insurance broker if you don’t have one.

We typically provide indicative terms of insurance within 48 hours from receipt of the request for terms, but we can provide a quote within 24 hours in exceptional circumstances.

Please see Process for more information.

When seeking a quote for tax insurance the following information should be provided: (i) an outline/description of the tax risk, (ii) details and analysis of any facts relevant to the risk (both positive and negative), (iii) a calculation of the financial cover required, (iv) details of what insurance is required (e.g. who is the insured, policy period, limit of liability, etc), and (v) copies of any tax advice in relation to the risk.

No, but a note from a third party tax adviser (even by-email) will significantly improve the pricing and certainty of a quote. We will have a better understanding and so can price the risk more accurately and will need to assume less about the factual background. An external note also ensures that anything potentially problematic is highlighted (e.g. an ongoing audit or unhelpful factual aspect). If we make a material finding during underwriting then we may need to change our terms.

Once appointed to underwrite, we can issue a finalised policy within five business days although on average it takes two weeks. In exceptional circumstances and depending on the nature of the risk it may be possible to truncate this process.

Please see Process for more information.

This will depend on the context, but tax risks are often quite complex and so it can be beneficial to get in touch with us or your broker once a risk is identified. Particularly where a matter is time sensitive it is best to seek quotes for insurance as early as possible.

If a risk will arise in the future (e.g. because a transaction or supply has not yet happened) it is helpful to involve us before the activity commences where possible.

Please see Process for more information or visit Quotes to seek terms of insurance.

The cost of tax insurance will typically comprise the premium, applicable premium taxes, an underwriting fee, and broker commission.

A single, up-front premium is payable. Our minimum premium is typically £85,000 (or equivalent) and we typically charge between 2% and 8% of the limit of liability sought. The applicable insurance premium tax will depend on the location of the policyholder. However, we consider each transaction on its own merits and exceptionally we can offer a lower premium.

Our external expenses vary according to the complexity/size of the risk and the scope of work required. Typically, our external expenses are £10,000 – £30,000 (or equivalent).

The structure of your insurance broker’s commission will depend on the agreement they have with you. Typically, brokerage is a percentage of the premium (and we will provide a gross premium quote, i.e. inclusive of brokerage), but some brokers work to a fixed fee with their clients.

Typically the policyholder pays the premium, but this can be subject to commercial negotiation between relevant parties. For example, to avoid an indemnity a seller may pay for a buyer’s tax liability insurance policy.

A tax policy will typically include a retention (or excess) in respect of the costs of defending a tax assessment (if defence costs are covered). Otherwise the retention will be nil.

We can offer a seven-year policy period.

Please see Process for more information or visit Quotes to seek terms of insurance.

Geographically, our primary markets are the United Kingdom, the Nordics, and Australasia, but we also regularly insure risks in Northern Europe and CEE & the Baltics. We do not underwrite pure USA market deals, although we will underwrite a target business that has operations in the USA.

We are very experienced with tax risks relating to M&A transactions or relating to Institutions & Funds. As a result of this experience, we have also developed a Personal Tax offering to assist management teams and fund managers and Richard Taylor-Whiteway is ‘Top Recommended’ in the Spear’s 500 index of insurance advisers to high-net-worth individuals.

We do not offer insurance for transactions/arrangements that are reportable under the UK’s disclosure of tax avoidance schemes (DOTAS) regime or its equivalents in other jurisdictions.

We will consider transactions/arrangements which are reportable pursuant to domestic legislation (e.g. as implemented following the EU Council Directive 2011/16 (DAC6)) provided that the relevant transaction/arrangement (i) does not constitute aggressive tax avoidance, (ii) has a commercial purpose, and (iii) is in the spirit of the relevant law (i.e. is not exploiting an unintended legal loophole).

Yes. At Brockwell we have developed a transfer pricing product (also known as ‘benchmarking insurance’) which offers protection against losses suffered where the arm’s length pricing of a transaction that is supported by a benchmarking study is challenged by a tax authority.

It is fundamental that a benchmarking study has been prepared and the purpose of benchmarking insurance is to support the pricing range proposed by a study. That is, benchmarking insurance cannot be used as an alternative to a benchmarking study, but it can offer commercial certainty alongside such a study.

Our principle appetite is in respect of the pricing of interest on shareholder debt.

We do not currently offer insurance in respect of USA tax risks. If a risk is not subject to challenge by the IRS but the beneficiary of the policy is a USA person then we can consider a solution. We are particularly experienced with offering structures for USA asset managers making inbound European investments.

Beazley will be primarily responsible for claims handling. They are a highly regarded insurer and have an award-winning claims team that has dedicated claims handlers for transactional insurance risk. Beazley specialise in dealing with complex, multi-jurisdictional matters.

The senior underwriter assigned to your transaction will assist with each step of the claims process.

See Claims for more information.