AmTrust Financial Services and Blackstone Credit & Insurance (BXCI) have completed a strategic transaction to spin off a portfolio of AmTrust’s managing general agencies (MGAs) and fee-based businesses into a newly established independent company, ANV Group Holdings Ltd.
The transaction, which was first announced in September and has now received regulatory approval, consolidates AmTrust’s MGA operations across the US, the UK, and Continental Europe under the ANV platform. As part of the arrangement, AmTrust and ANV have entered into a 10-year capacity agreement under which AmTrust will continue to underwrite the existing books of business distributed through the MGAs. The agreement spans seven AmTrust subsidiaries: ANV Specialty, Risico, Collegiate, ANV Nordic, Arc Legal, Qualis, and Abacus.
The MGAs offer a broad suite of specialty insurance products, including excess and surplus (E&S) cyber, directors and officers (D&O) liability, transaction risk, professional indemnity, legal expenses, mortgage and structured credit, warranties, agricultural workers’ compensation, income protection, accident and health, and specialised property coverages for residential and commercial risks.
Former AmTrust President Adam Karkowsky has been appointed chairman and chief executive officer of ANV Group Holdings. He is joined by a senior leadership team comprising Joseph Brecher as chief financial officer, Jacob Decter as chief operating officer, and Aaron Basilius as head of MGAs US. All previously held senior leadership positions at AmTrust.
Commenting on the launch, Karkowsky said: “With the creation of an independent, diversified multinational MGA platform built on deep insurance expertise and a strong shared history, ANV is well-positioned to deliver meaningful growth and long-term value, supported by our continued partnership with AmTrust and Blackstone.”
ANV will focus on scaling its specialty and affinity insurance offerings, pursuing the acquisition and incubation of MGAs, and developing new products for brokers, partners, and clients across the US, UK, and Europe.
AmTrust, which serves customers in more than 60 countries worldwide, will retain a significant equity stake in ANV and continue to provide underwriting capacity for its MGA operations. The transaction is expected to accelerate ANV’s growth strategy and strengthen its position in the global specialty insurance market.
