b'TABLE OF CONTENTSMERGERS & ACQUISITIONS MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS TR ANSAC TIONAL LIABILIT Y INSUR ANCEUnited StatesOn the underwriting side of the US transactional liability insurance (TLI) market, in 2021, the story was about pricing and coverage, but the storyline diverged from the plot of the past several years. While M&A market activity continued at a breakneck paceshattering records for deal volumethe TLI market kept pace with record numbers of policies and premiums written to cover an even greater share of the M&A market. At the same time, 2021 was notable for a reversal of key trends in pricing and coverage that had persisted (and noted in the space) for several years.PricingThe first of these trends to be interrupted was the consistent downward pressure on premiums and pricing overall, which resulted from an extremely competitive market among insurers vying for market share. However, in 2021 premiums took a sharp turn northward with increases in premiums and rates on line for a fairly typical for a reps/warranties insurance policies ranging from 25% to 40% in year-over-year terms, all things considered. This was driven by several factors, including increased size and volume of claims activity in the past several years (which had been foreshadowing premium increases for some time but, prior to last year, had not yet come to fruition) and capacity in the market. On the latter point, there were reports of insurers reaching their capacity limits for the year long before December 31, 2021, which took certain players out of the market for year-end deals. This further limited capacity for the end-of-year M&A push and magnified the impact on pricing.MAYER BROWN |35'