AmTrust at Lloyd's and Canopius sign merger agreement

“A transformational step.”

That is how Canopius chairman Michael Watson described the news of an agreement being signed between the firm and AmTrust at Lloyd’s. The move, revealed this morning, will see Canopius’s Lloyd’s business merge with the AmTrust Financial division, subject to regulatory approval.

“The AmTrust at Lloyd’s business brings significant underwriting expertise, product diversification, and scale to the Canopius portfolio,” he said. “Together we will broaden the product and service proposition we offer our highly-valued clients and distribution partners. Quite simply, this is a unique and exciting opportunity which places us among the top five businesses at Lloyd’s and we welcome AmTrust as a significant minority shareholder in Canopius.”

When the deal goes through – which is expected in the third quarter of this year – it will establish a business with combined premiums at approximately $2.2 billion. From January 01, 2020, Canopius is planning to merge its Syndicate 4444 with AmTrust Syndicate 1861 under the management of Canopius Managing Agents. When that deal is completed, AmTrust Financial Services Inc. will become a significant minority shareholder in Canopius.

“The sale of AmTrust at Lloyd’s to Canopius is a significant step in the AmTrust Forward vision to be a leading specialty commercial P&C insurer focused on local markets and niche products where we can add significant value,” said AmTrust Financial chairman and CEO Barry Zyskind. “This transaction joins AmTrust with a great partner in Canopius through our minority stake in a top-five Lloyd’s syndicate. Our Lloyd’s clientele and employees will be well served by the new, larger, Canopius operation.”