According to Aon’s 2026 Transaction Solutions Global Claims Study, the ability to transfer risk directly to the insurance market has unlocked a massive segment of the Belgian mid-market.
In the past, when a buyer’s due diligence teams uncovered unquantifiable tax, compliance, or financial statement exposures, the deal would either stall or die entirely. But Aon’s 2026 Transaction Solutions Global Claims Study shows that insurance is now increasingly being used to bridge the gap between a buyer’s need for security and a seller’s demand for a clean exit.
“In any country, culture eats strategy for breakfast. In Belgium, especially, relationships are key and drive trust in the way we do business,” alludes Aon MD Peter Zwijnenburg. Due to the family-owned nature of most businesses in the region, M&A is usually built on reputation. “Not everything is down to rules, and a higher entrepreneurial approach to doing business usually allows a target to move more quickly.”
This means much of the risk is managed during due diligence, as introducing risk-transfer tools such as warranties and insurance (W&I) can feel overly litigious to traditional founders.
However, Peter says that, in only a few years, W&I is now being used in the majority of deals, and the ability to mitigate due diligence risks by transferring them to insurers is quickly becoming the norm. And while an increase in post-deal risk management – despite longer deal timelines and more extensive due diligence – may seem like a massive blow to dealmakers’ reputation, he states that the opposite is true: “This allows deals to take place that would not have in the past.”
The Benelux risk environment is maturing
In fact, Peter suggests that there is a growing understanding among M&A professionals that insurance can help to prevent future conflicts and allow buyers and sellers to preserve their relationship post-close. “Our claims specialists are spending more time than ever with deal lawyers, litigators and insureds than ever, providing insights into the claim process and triggers, as well as what notification processes should look like.”
This is largely the reason behind the 47% surge in EMEA notifications cited in the report. “We think the evolution of notifications in this region is, in many ways, down to the market starting to reach maturity,” Peter shares.
“With regions that adopted the policy earlier, such as Benelux, we see real risk sophistication. And, if issues are identified in an environment where there is greater knowledge of notification triggers, we will naturally see more notifications.”
Furthermore, Peter points out that in some highly regulated jurisdictions, you will almost certainly see a tax notification as a precaution, but it rarely results in any loss. Not to mention, Aon sells more policies year-on-year, which needs to be considered alongside claims frequency and the percentage of policies that receive a notification.
He explains that there was no significant change in the claims frequency until 2025, when 9.5 percent of policies received a notification within the placement year. “We will not know whether this is a behavioural shift to earlier notifications or an increase in claims frequency for a further 24 months.”
With sophistication comes extra scrutiny
What Peter can confidently say is that any company increasingly needs to apply discipline as business environments change rapidly. This includes making data-driven decisions and mitigating risks by optimising your insurance policy cover. “The ‘buy low, sell high’ play can no longer be performed without investing in improving the entity first.”
He clarifies that in current markets, funds are not only looking for the next deal but also paying attention to what they have bought, especially if they are holding the asset longer than they have historically. As such, it has become more important to create value by scrutinising costs and optimising operations.
At Aon, M&A-dedicated professionals are available to provide cyber and human capital advisory services during the M&A process. However, as private equity firms increasingly focus on value creation during the hold period, more firms are making greater post-acquisition efforts to optimise cyber maturity levels and manage human capital costs. The latter is also in light of new regulations around pensions and equal pay.
Peter recommends that, post-deal, organisations should focus on these factors, while risk professionals might handle the rest. “It is almost impossible to turn over every stone, and due diligence techniques are always evolving. Cyber and tech risk currently require more due diligence, and – still to my surprise – human capital and culture remain underinvestigated during M&A processes.”
He adds that the geopolitical and macroeconomic environment is constantly in flux; hence the financial outlook of many Belgian companies has become less predictable. Professionalising risk management addresses issues like these: “Aon’s claims teams across North America, EMEA and APAC are in constant dialogue around common issues insurers, lawyers and due diligence providers deal with daily. Using these insights, we’ve developed various risk analysers that provide benchmark data to ensure you understand the risks within your company.”
As Belgian companies gain global exposure, they are encouraged to use this data to ensure a more mature risk set-up and spur more M&A activity.
For more information, read the full report.
