Accelerant Partner With New Third-Party Capitalized Insurer WoodStar

The partnership supports Accelerant's long-term goal of connecting specialty commercial insurance businesses with high-quality institutional investors. It also helps the company expand its network of insurance partners through the Accelerant Risk Exchange.

WoodStar is a reciprocal insurance company backed by more than $220 million in capital and surplus notes from investors, including Kilter Finance, a KKR-backed specialty finance company, and funds managed by Blue Owl Capital.

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WoodStar has received an A- (Excellent) financial strength rating from AM Best and will provide dedicated underwriting capacity exclusively for the Accelerant Risk Exchange.

The company will be managed by an attorney-in-fact that is majority owned by Accelerant, along with other minority investors. While Accelerant does not own WoodStar, it will provide underwriting, distribution, claims, and other services under a contractual agreement.

“WoodStar is another step forward for our platform,” said Jeff Radke, CEO of Accelerant. “We continue to develop attractive structures for institutional investors and other risk capital providers to partner with the Accelerant Risk Exchange and support our growing Member base.”

“We have been impressed by Accelerant’s underwriting capabilities, deep MGA network, and differentiated approach to aligning risk and capital. We are excited to be partnering with the Accelerant Risk Exchange through WoodStar,” Dan Knipe, CIO of Kilter Finance said. “This innovative solution is another demonstration of Kilter’s insurance sector expertise,” continued Charles Lens, Managing Director of Kilter Finance.

“We are excited to support WoodStar, a structure designed for long-term, capital-efficient growth,” said Bharath Subramanian, Managing Director at Blue Owl Capital. “We look forward to providing capital to meet the risk management needs of a diversified group of small and medium sized US businesses together with the Accelerant Risk Exchange.”

About Accelerant

Founded in 2018 by Jeff Radke and Christopher Lee-Smith, Accelerant operates the Accelerant Risk Exchange, a data driven platform that connects specialty insurance companies with capital providers. The platform uses advanced analytics and real-time data to improve underwriting, support stable insurance performance and help deploy capital more efficiently.

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