Liberty Mutual buys AmTrust's global surety, credit reinsurance business

Liberty Mutual Insurance is to acquire the global surety and credit reinsurance operations of AmTrust Financial Services in a move it hopes will support its "goal of becoming a top three global commercial re/insurer".

The definitive agreement between the two companies will see Liberty Mutual taking over four AmTrust businesses, including AmTrust Surety which provides contract, commercial, and subdivision bonds primarily in the Western US; AmTrust Insurance Spain which offers surety bonds in Spain and Latin America; Nationale Borg which provides surety, worker disability, and home purchase bonds in the Netherlands and Belgium; and Nationale Borg Reinsurance (NBRe) — a global provider of surety, trade credit and political risk reinsurance.

The AmTrust Surety portion of the acquisition is expected to close in Q2 of 2019, and the AmTrust Insurance Spain, Nationale Borg, and NBRe portion is expected to close in the second half of 2019, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

The agreement strengthens Liberty Mutual’s global surety market position, and marks an important step in AmTrust's strategic growth plan following the completion of its go-private merger deal with Evergreen.

“The transaction will further enhance our strong global surety and reinsurance expertise, market leadership, and geographic footprint,” said Dennis Langwell, president, global risk solutions, Liberty Mutual. “Once the transaction closes, we’ll integrate the acquired operations into our current structure.”

Tim Mikolajewski, president of global surety, added: “We believe this transaction will strengthen our best-in-class operation, allowing us to better serve our valued agents, brokers, and customers. The added scale and key talent aligns well with our model and goals in the U.S., and will provide a platform for broader global development through AmTrust Insurance Spain, Nationale Borg, and Nationale Borg Reinsurance.”

Barry Zyskind, chairman and CEO of AmTrust, said: “Earlier this year, we announced our plan to become a leading specialty commercial P&C insurer by focusing on local markets and niche products where we can add significant value. The agreement with Liberty Mutual enables us to focus our resources in areas where we can differentiate ourselves through the value we bring to distribution partners and buyers.”