Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Netherland
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
United Kingdom
Australia
Hong Kong
New Zealand
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Philippines
Singapore
Thailand
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Mexico
Peru
Bahrain
Israel
Morocco
UAE
Oman
Tanzania
Best-in-class expertise
Our market-leading Tax & Contingent Risks team is the largest, most experienced and most sophisticated broking team of its kind. Bringing together deep expertise from industry experts across tax, litigation, finance and structuring, we develop innovative risk transfer solutions for our clients in this rapidly expanding market and have a reputation for delivering best-in-class execution on the most complex deals.
Regular clients include:
- private equity funds
- real estate funds
- blue chip corporates
- hedge funds
- investment banks
- pension funds
- sovereign wealth funds
- private investors
£8bn
tax and contingent risk cover placed in 2024
£1bn+
maximum available limit per single risk
25
specialist tax and contingent risk brokers
£200m
GWP in 2024
The benefits for you
Drive growth
Remove roadblocks in M&A transactions
Resolve strategic/structural issues
Unlock liquidity
Achieve certainty
Access to finance
Tax risk insurance
A tax risk insurance policy is designed to provide financial cover in the event an identified tax risk crystallises into an actual liability by transferring the identified tax risk to the insurance market.
Leveraging the deep technical knowledge of our brokers, we work with the tax risk insurance market to design innovative insurance solutions that address the complexities of today’s dynamic and ever-changing global tax landscape.
Use cases of tax risk insurance
Preservation of tax credits / incentives
Withholding tax risks on cross-border transactions
Preservation of carry-forward tax losses
Accounting / tax recognition risks
Specific issues identified during M&A or divestment
Hedging and derivatives tax risks
Unwinding legacy structures
Forward-looking cover for anticipated transactions
Live tax disputes and litigation
International tax risks
e.g. Pillar II, anti-hybrid mismatches, CFCs
Remuneration strategy
e.g. incentive schemes / cash extraction issues
Tax residency / permanent establishment risks
Litigation and legal risks
Contingent legal risk insurance provides cover for loss arising from a legal risk crystallising, sometimes in the context of an M&A transaction but also a broad range of applications across restructuring & insolvency, liquidation, litigation, and finance.
Our team of former litigators and investment bankers take a forensic approach to the up-front assessment of risk, developing innovative insurance programmes that achieve results .
Use cases of litigation and legal risk insurance
Cash release
Law firm contingent fee insurance
Lender comfort / pricing improvements
Contingent liability release
Indemnity / bond / collateral release
Investment committee approvals
Monetise contingent assets
Appeal risk insurance
Catastrophe protection
Litigation stop-loss
State / state-owned entity defendant non-payment
Adverse costs / security for costs / cross undertakings
Financing solutions for tax and contingent assets
Insurance-backed lending enables clients to refinance or achieve an effective early sale of these otherwise illiquid assets. Our team has the relevant regulatory permissions to allow us to arrange such debt placements for clients in certain jurisdictions, supporting balance sheet optimisation and increased liquidity by facilitating access to finance or financing on better terms.
Transfer risk of not being able to realise the value for the contingent assets to the insurance market.
Raise capital via traditional and alternative lenders, secured against the insured contingent assets to drive liquidity.
Carbon and energy transition insurance solutions
Our innovative Carbon and Technology Performance insurance products support the transition to net zero. For carbon markets, we provide coverage that protects project developers, investors, buyers, and aggregators of carbon credits against credit cancellation or invalidation, mitigates political risks, or safeguards against non-delivery and natural perils. For early stage climate technologies which support decarbonisation, technology performance insurance helps to bridge the financing gap by covering the risk of underperformance or failure.
Legal, Technical and Claims
Formed in 2015, our legal, technical and claims team is comprised of former insurance litigators and industry professionals, with proven experience in securing the best cover for policyholders.
At no extra cost, our specialist team will support you during every step of the policy and claims life cycle, with our full-service offering covering:
- policy drafting and negotiation of terms
- placement of cover
- claims notification
- claims support from start to conclusion of a claim, including where this extends beyond the period of the policy
Once the claims process is concluded and loss identified, the insurer makes a payment directly to the insured.
Our team
Tax & Contingent Risks is a division of Howden Specialty, bringing together expertise and experience in tax, litigation, finance, structuring, energy and insurance across three core product teams - M&A Tax, Contingent Risks and Strategic Opportunities. With 26 specialist brokers, including local experts across Europe, we develop innovative risk transfer solutions for our clients. We have a culture of true collaboration, ensuring our clients benefit from the collective knowledge and experience of our industry leading experts.
M&A Tax
Our team of experienced tax professionals with backgrounds in Big 4 and top tier law firms advises investment funds and large corporates on tax risk insurance solutions in the context of M&A deals and, more broadly, throughout the investment and funds structuring cycle.
Contingent Risks
Litigation experts with experience in commercial litigation, regulatory disputes and litigation funding, advising on litigation and legal risk insurance solutions in both M&A and other contexts, including restructuring & insolvency, litigation funding, arbitration and collateral protection.
Strategic Opportunities
Structuring team with significant investment banking and capital markets experience, focussing on insurance and insurance-backed lending solutions for investment banks, hedge funds and investors in special situations, commodities, climate, energy and tech.
Europe
Working closely with our specialist product teams, our team of experienced tax professionals across Europe provide expert local advice on tax and contingent risk solutions for complex domestic and cross-border deals.
