Specialist non-standard property MGA Arkel has secured £380 million in delegated authority capacity from AmTrust, with the binder extended to 2031 across household, caravan, and beach hut lines. The MGA has also separately renewed a £25 million Lloyd’s binder for landlords’ let property.
The announcement lands as the UK household insurance market absorbs one of its most difficult claims years on record. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) reported that insurers paid out £6.1 billion in property claims in 2025, the highest annual total ever recorded. Deloitte, meanwhile, forecast a net combined ratio of 102.1% for UK home insurers in 2026 – above 100% means paying out more in claims and costs than is collected in premium – with EY separately projecting 103% on updated loss data. Against that backdrop, carriers committing to long-dated delegated authority in niche property lines are making an active underwriting choice.
Arkel, part of the Atec Group, said gross written premium had grown 40% over the past two years through distribution expansion and new partnerships with personal lines distributors. Kris Lee, chief underwriting officer at Arkel, attributed the extension to underwriting discipline and pricing stability maintained throughout that period.
“In the last five years, we’ve gone from being the new kids on the block to wanting to dominate the non-standard household space,” Lee said. “We’ve achieved this by maintaining underwriting discipline and pricing stability, and by harnessing tech-driven innovation to make it easier than ever to transact with us.”
Bruce Whitmee, chief executive of AmTrust Speciality Limited, said the insurer had confidence in Arkel’s distribution capabilities and underwriting discipline to drive sustainable growth.
Capacity consolidating around proven underwriters
The deal follows a broader pattern in the non-standard household segment, where capacity has been restructuring around providers with long track records in writing these risks profitably. Some carriers have pulled back from non-standard construction, unoccupied properties and flood-exposed homes, concentrating available capacity among specialist MGAs with proven data and claims records.
In the landlords’ let property market, conditions have been shaped by the Renters’ Rights Act, which took effect in May 2026, and ongoing repair cost inflation. Both factors have pushed legal expenses and income protection components of landlord cover into sharper focus at renewal. Arkel’s Lloyd’s binder renewal gives brokers active in that market a committed capacity panel in a line where terms have been tightening.
The binder runs to 2031. The MGA market context sharpens that point: as the FCA has expanded its oversight review of delegated authority arrangements, capacity providers are under pressure to demonstrate that their MGA partners can evidence consistent consumer outcomes and claims-handling standards, not just premium growth. A renewal of this duration is increasingly a statement about governance as much as commercial appetite.
