AmTrust buys Wakam, recapitalising the French embedded insurer after a regulatory ban
Wakam built one of Europe's best-known white-label insurance platforms for MGAs, fintechs and online retailers. A month after the French supervisor stopped it writing new policies, it has a new owner and says it can trade normally again.
AmTrust International, the specialty insurance arm of US group AmTrust Financial Services, has acquired Wakam, a Paris-based B2B2C insurer that operates across Europe and the UK. The deal covers Wakam SA and Wakam UK and more than 230 employees, according to AmTrust's press release dated London, 26 October 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed, Les Echos reported.
AmTrust says that, under its ownership, Wakam is now fully capitalised and can write new business and renew policies in all its markets. That matters because Wakam SA had been barred from doing exactly that since late September.
Why Wakam needed a buyer
On 25 September 2026, France's Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (ACPR) temporarily banned Wakam SA from underwriting new contracts and renewing existing ones, Insurance Times reported. Wakam UK, which is regulated separately in Britain, was not affected.
According to Insurance Business, the order followed a balance sheet clean-up in which Wakam wrote down certain legacy assets and breached its solvency capital requirement. The outlet says Wakam's own solvency report showed coverage of 66% at the end of 2025, against a regulatory minimum of 100%, and that shareholders had put in at least €119 million in 2025 and March 2026. French financial daily L'Agefi reports that about €300 million had been injected since 2023 without preventing the ban.
Les Echos called the deal a last-minute rescue. Wakam SA covers France and the European market outside the UK, while Wakam UK runs the British business. Insurance Business reports that Wakam UK's chief executive, Mark Christer, said in September that the UK unit remained solvent, profitable and growing.
What AmTrust gets
AmTrust says the deal gives it a platform to expand in Europe with local French expertise and a presence in France, and adds to its UK business. Wakam holds licences in most European countries and writes pan-European programmes with centralised decision-making, according to the release. Insurance Business adds that it brings a French insurer with 29 European passports and Wakam's API-based "Play&Plug" platform for embedded insurance.
"Wakam highly complements our international business, adding business lines, with delegated authority, that fit well within our appetite," said Peter Dewey, Head of AmTrust International. He said the deal is a chance "to expand into new niche products and geographies".
Olivier Jaillon, chairman and founder of Wakam, said: "AmTrust brings the financial strength, underwriting and actuarial expertise, and commitment needed to support our long-term success."
How Wakam's model works
Wakam does not sell insurance under its own brand. It designs white-label products that partners such as managing general agents (MGAs), brokers, fintechs and online platforms sell to their customers, often embedded at checkout or inside an app. In this model, the insurer provides the licence and the balance sheet, and the partner owns the customer relationship. AmTrust says this delegated underwriting approach matches its own, which relies on MGA and broker partnerships.
What it means for MGAs and insurtech founders
For the many European insurtechs and MGAs that sell policies on Wakam's paper, the main news is continuity. Reinsurance News reports that AmTrust confirmed Wakam can again write new business and renew policies in all jurisdictions where it operates. Partners will still want to check each programme, as AmTrust's own risk appetite will now apply.
The wider lesson is about capacity. Insurance Business, citing Howden Re, puts European MGA premiums at about $23 billion in 2025, up 15% on the year. That growth depends on carriers willing to lend their licence and capital, and Wakam's case shows how quickly a capacity provider can become a single point of failure for its partners.
For founders building on embedded insurance, a few lessons follow. Check the solvency report of the insurer behind your product, have a second carrier where possible, and expect more consolidation as larger groups buy licensed platforms. For investors, it is another sign that regulated infrastructure in Europe tends to end up with big balance-sheet owners, as seen this month in LSEG's agreed deal for credit data firm Octus.
Other recent deals in the European financial sector include Cognitive Credit's $40m raise and Nevis's $70m Series B.
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