Exclusive: Hub selling Specialty Comp to Blackstone-backed ANV after Berkshire Guard capacity exit

Hub International's Specialty Program Group is selling Specialty Comp Insurance Solutions, its Dallas-based workers' compensation MGA, to ANV Group Holdings, the Blackstone-backed MGA platform spun out of AmTrust Financial Services last year, according to people familiar with the matter, with ​the transaction expected to close within the next week.

SPG presidents were informed of the transaction on a call Thursday, ‌according to people familiar with the matter.

A wider announcement is expected next week.

Hub, SPG and ANV did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The program wrote approximately $250 million in gross written premium in 2025, according to people familiar with the matter, before premium volume came under pressure in the first quarter of 2026.

The ​transaction follows a period of significant fronting instability at Specialty Comp.

SPG terminated its long-standing capacity arrangement with QBE, after which ​Berkshire Hathaway Guard stepped in as primary front following discussions at senior levels of both Guard and ⁠Berkshire Hathaway.

Guard terminated the arrangement within approximately two months, citing what sources described as a misunderstanding within Berkshire Hathaway about delegated authority, specifically ​around Guard's ability to grant delegated authority to program managers.

Guard's exit came despite the arrangement having been agreed at senior levels of both ​organizations, according to people familiar with the matter.

SPG appealed the decision, reaching Ajit Jain, Berkshire Hathaway's vice chairman of insurance operations, according to people familiar with the matter.

The appeal did not succeed.

AmTrust subsequently provided fronting capacity for the program, with new business continuing to be written and renewals quoted through the transition period, ​according to people familiar with the matter.

But two carrier changes in quick succession created significant disruption for customers, according to people familiar ​with the matter.

Hub concluded that aligning the program with an AmTrust-affiliated entity would restore stability more quickly for clients and employees.

The sale represents an unusual circumstance ‌for ⁠Hub, which has long characterized itself as a buyer rather than a seller and has built SPG through acquisitions it intends to hold permanently, according to people familiar with the matter.

The decision was driven by a determination that selling to an AmTrust-affiliated entity was in the best interest of the program's clients, customers and employees, those people said.

ANV Group Holdings was formed in late 2025 by AmTrust and Blackstone Credit ​and Insurance to house AmTrust's portfolio ​of managing general agencies and ⁠fee-based businesses across the U.S., UK and continental Europe.

The platform was created through the spin-off of seven AmTrust subsidiaries.

As part of the transaction, AmTrust entered a 10-year capacity agreement with ANV and retained a ​significant equity stake, leaving the new platform closely tied to its former parent.

ANV is led by Adam ​Karkowsky, formerly president ⁠of AmTrust, as chairman and chief executive, alongside a senior team drawn largely from AmTrust alumni.

Its stated mandate includes acquiring and incubating MGAs across specialty and affinity lines including cyber, financial lines, professional indemnity, credit risk, agricultural workers' compensation and accident and health.

The Specialty Comp sale hands the ⁠program to ​a buyer that is both backed by Blackstone and retains AmTrust as its primary ​capacity provider, underscoring the continued role AmTrust plays in the program's capital and underwriting structure.

Specialty Comp was acquired by SPG from MarketScout in June 2017, with the business handling ​approximately $100 million in premium at the time.

It specializes in workers' compensation coverage for hard-to-place, high-hazard risks across transportation, construction, healthcare, retail and manufacturing.