Specialty insurer Mosaic Insurance Holdings Ltd. has established an international transactional liability platform based in London to initially focus on the U.K. and Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It has also expanded its M&A unit in the U.S. and said the moves are in response to the global market’s record pace of deal activity.

Bermuda-based Mosaic has appointed Sam Whiteman and Andrew Gofton-Salmond in London, with plans for further growth in coming months. Mr. Whiteman joins the company as senior vice president, head of international transactional liability, and Mr. Gofton-Salmond joins as vice president, manager, transactional liability.

“This is an important juncture in Mosaic’s development as we approach the end of our first calendar year,” said co-CEO Mark Wheeler. “Transactional liability is a core focus of our model and growth strategy, and a product line we expect to grow exponentially in North America and beyond. The fast-paced development of our M&A platform, first in the U.S. and now ramping up in London, serves the rising needs of clients in an unprecedented environment.”

The U.K. launch follows a rapid buildout of the business line since Mosaic hired William Monat as global head of transactional liability in April, followed by Stavan Desai in May as North American team leader and Katherine Spenner as chief legal officer.

Mr. Whiteman was previously head of London and emerging markets at Liberty Mutual. He will manage Mosaic’s transactional liability underwriting outside of North America with an initial focus on the U.K. and EMEA, reporting to Mr. Monat.

Mr. Gofton-Salmond joins from American International Group Inc., where he was a senior underwriter with a focus on providing insurance for M&A deals across the U.K., Europe and emerging markets.

Mosaic began underwriting M&A coverage in July, including representations and warranties insurance and other transactional risk products. Since then, its US-based M&A team has expanded to a total of 16 specialists.

 “Economic conditions are driving heavy deal volume and value, and insurance coverage has become vital to help buyers and sellers achieve timely closures. To meet that robust demand with specialized underwriting, we plan to add another dozen specialists by the end of next year,” Mr. Monat said.

Commercial Risk Europe is a sister publication of Business Insurance. More stories from CRE here.