An online mergers and acquisitions (M&A) insurance platform for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) has launched in Australia ahead of a planned international expansion, aiming to fill a gap in the market.

The platform, io.insure, will initially provide solutions for smaller M&A transactions with values of up to $50 million, progressing to larger transactions over time. The group says it will soon be expanded to North America, the UK, Europe and Asia.

Insurance industry veterans Killian McDermott and David Rogers, who have created the platform as part of POP Holdings group, say there is currently a scarcity of capacity and inefficient processes in the niche M&A segment for SMEs, with the focus mainly on larger deals.

“We are delighted to launch the world’s first online M&A insurance marketplace, serving a fast-growing segment of small and medium business owners in Australia and safeguarding their growth ambitions and exit strategies,” Mr McDermott said today.

“As we look towards the future, there is exciting potential for other new specialty business lines that io.insure will tap into globally and we look forward to announcing these in due course.”

Other areas flagged are financial lines, parametric insurance and sustainable insurance.

io.insure says it will work with marketplace partners globally to provide Underwriting-as-a-Service (UaaS) support for global and local insurers as well as Lloyd’s syndicates, combining M&A and specialist underwriting expertise, data and technology and distribution. It can also be white-labelled by insurer and distribution partners, the business says.