AmTrust Financial Services
Carrier website links, underwriting access points, mapped product lines, and appetite notes in one place.
This appetite summary is only a guide. Confirm eligibility, submission requirements, restrictions, and binding authority directly with the carrier or underwriter before relying on it.
Carrier appetite summary
AmTrust’s current small-business underwriting guidance is centered on workers’ compensation and companion small commercial lines, with a strong digital/agent-driven submission model. For Workers Comp, AmTrust states it has more than 500 eligible classes, with over 300 classes eligible to bind online, and positions itself for small and mid-sized businesses with same-day bind capability on select classes through AmTrust Online/Bind Online. Preferred Workers Comp classes include artisan contractors, beauty shops, buildings-operations by owners or contractors, doctors/dentists, hotels, light metalworking machine shops, private schools, professional offices, restaurants, retail stores, and wholesale stores. The broader small business appetite guide also shows support across professional services, technology, medical, personal services, retail, light habitational/real estate-related exposures, and selected auto service classes; examples include lawyers, accountants, insurance agents, photographers, real estate agents, medical offices, physical therapy, barber/beauty/nail salons, bakeries/coffee shops, florists, dry cleaning receiving stores, pet grooming, clothing retailers, wholesalers, interior electrical, drywall, flooring, and general auto service/repair. For companion lines, AmTrust markets BOP, Package, Umbrella, Commercial Auto, Inland Marine, Cyber, and EPLI alongside WC, with automatic BOP and Cyber quote options when quoting WC in some workflows. Operational underwriting parameters published for WC include: generally at least 1 year in business with workers’ compensation coverage; for artisan contracting risks, AmTrust prefers 3 years of prior coverage; it will consider new ventures/no prior coverage for most main street business; at least 1 full-time employee other than owner(s); fewer than 75 employees at a single location at the same time on the WC sell sheet; and for the web-posted small-business/new venture submission guidance, it targets fewer than 12 employees unless part of a franchise program. New venture / less-than-3-years prior coverage targets are explicitly listed as eligible operations such as professional offices (doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, insurance agents, computer programmers/consultants), beauty/barber shops, retail stores selling new merchandise with no late-night hours and no delivery, restaurants with liquor receipts under 50% of total receipts, not open after midnight, no delivery, and NY minimum premium of $1,000, plus laundries/dry cleaners with no vehicle exposure. Published restrictions/limitations are mostly class- and exposure-based rather than a formal decline list on the verified pages: electronics shops exclude cell phone stores in the appetite guide; retail eligibility notes emphasize sale of new merchandise, no delivery, and no late-night operations; restaurant eligibility notes cap liquor receipts at under 50%, require no delivery, and no after-midnight hours; laundries/dry cleaners should have no vehicle exposure; and construction-related business can be subject to state construction defect guidelines. The appetite guide also notes a product geography restriction for BOP—not Workers Comp—stating BOP is not available in AK, CA, FL, HI, MA, MD, NJ, NY, NC, PA, RI, TX, and WA. AmTrust also says underwriting guidelines may vary geographically, so state-specific handling should be expected, particularly for construction defect and class availability issues. Submission requirements published for Workers Comp are relatively specific: complete ACORD application; insured FEIN; detailed description of operations and exact nature of work; premium schedule from AmTrust’s website; completed questionnaire; narrative explaining operations/experience where needed; and loss runs. In the AmTrust Online workflow, FEIN is required for WC submissions, submissions can be entered up to 110 days before effective date, and agents can add class codes, states, payroll, modifiers, higher limits, attach documents, message the underwriter, and generate an ACORD. Loss run expectations are detailed: for retail, professional office exposures, motels, restaurants, laundries, and beauty shops, preferred submissions include current year plus past 3 years of loss runs; if not available, AmTrust accepts alternatives depending on premium size and mod, including current-year loss run only for premiums under $5,000, and additional current/prior loss data or mod worksheets for larger accounts or mods over 1.00. For other risks, AmTrust indicates consideration for accounts with a minimum of 3 years in business and prior coverage, with current year plus 3 prior years of loss runs, or current year loss runs plus an experience modification worksheet. Broker/producer notes: AmTrust strongly emphasizes appointed-agent distribution and digital servicing. Agents can quote, bind, issue policies, view policies/claims, and pay premiums online 24/7/365; same-day bind is available for select job classes; and APIs are available for quoting WC. The site also highlights multiple payment options including check, EFT/AutoPay, credit card, electronic check, Pay-As-You-Owe, and monthly self-reporting. Overall, the verified guidance supports a broad but clearly small-business-focused appetite, strongest in main street, professional office, service, retail, hospitality, selected artisan contracting, and light industrial/light auto service exposures, with tighter scrutiny for prior-loss history, employee count, delivery/vehicle exposure, late hours, liquor-heavy restaurants, and state-specific construction or product availability issues.