5. Amtrust makes deals to navigate challenging year

Amtrust Financial Services Inc. weathered a tough year in 2017.

The New York-based insurer delayed filing its 10K with the Securities and Exchange Commission early in the year and in April reports surfaced that it was the subject of a federal investigation into its accounting practices. The article about the reports was the fifth most read Risk Management article on Business Insurance’s website in 2017.

The insurer said it was unaware of any investigation and in May family members of its founders injected $300 million into the company.

Meanwhile, Amtrust was one of several insurers to pull out of the public entity market in California amid a surge in liability claims.

Then in July, Amtrust announced it had bought $400 million in adverse development coverage from a Bermuda-based runoff reinsurer affiliated with Arch Capital Group Ltd.

The coverage was exhausted by November, and A.M. Best Co. Inc. put Amtrust’s A financial strength rating under review with negative implications.

Amtrust, meanwhile, had agreed to a sale of a 51% stake in another of its businesses, which helped raise $950 million.

Read next