Accelerant business insurance

Overview

Accelerant is not an insurer business owners shop for. It runs the Accelerant Risk Exchange, a platform that pairs specialty underwriters, mostly managing general agents (MGAs), with reinsurers, insurers and institutional investors willing to take the risk. Its two U.S. insurance companies issue many of the policies those MGAs write. That is why the NAIC's ACCELERANT HOLDINGS GRP ranked No. 53 among U.S. business insurers by 2025 commercial lines direct premiums written, with $1.60 billion, based on NAIC market share data, about 0.33% of the national commercial market. It is not among the 10 largest writers of any single commercial line nationally. The largest lines are other liability ($727.7 million), package policies (commercial multiple peril, $257.1 million), fire ($217.2 million) and allied lines ($101.2 million).

The U.S. companies are:

• Accelerant National Insurance Company: an admitted insurer domiciled in Delaware (NAIC 10220).
• Accelerant Specialty Insurance Company: an excess and surplus lines insurer domiciled in Arkansas (NAIC 16890).
• Accelerant Underwriting Managers: an MGA registered in Arkansas.

Both insurers list their registered office at 400 Northridge Road in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Outside the U.S., the group has insurers in Belgium and the UK, a Canadian company and a Cayman Islands reinsurer. The exchange works in 22 countries and offers about 700 specialty products. Accelerant also places business with outside "Risk Exchange Insurers", which issued 47% of exchange premium in the second quarter of 2026. Its more than 95 risk capital partners include QBE, Tokio Marine America (part of Tokio Marine) and AF Specialty, a unit of AF Group.

The parent, Accelerant Holdings, has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ARX) since July 2025, and Altamont Capital Partners controls it. In August 2026 it agreed to be taken private by Thoma Bravo. Jeff Radke, co-founder, chairman and CEO, previously spent a decade at Argo Group and was CEO of PXRE Group.

History

• 2018: Jeff Radke and Chris Lee-Smith launch Accelerant in Europe.
• 2020: The company expands to the U.S. and to 28 risk capital partners. In December, AM Best assigns its first ratings to Accelerant Specialty Insurance Company.
• 2021: Accelerant launches Mission, an incubator for new MGAs, and Reserv, a claims third-party administrator.
• 2022: It forms Flywheel Re, a reinsurance sidecar.
• 2023: It enters Canada and Australia and opens the platform to outside insurers.
• 2024: It launches product development and "synthetic captive" offerings, and a second sidecar.
• 2025: QBE and Tokio Marine America join the exchange in April. The IPO prices on July 23 at $21 a share, and trading on the NYSE begins July 24. AF Specialty joins in September, taking the count of risk capital partners past 95.
• 2026: In July, WoodStar Reciprocal Exchange is formed to write only for the exchange. It is a reciprocal exchange backed by more than $220 million of surplus notes and capital from Kilter Finance, which KKR backs, and funds managed by Blue Owl. AM Best rates it A- (Excellent). Accelerant majority-owns WoodStar's attorney-in-fact but has no ownership in WoodStar itself, and WoodStar expects to write meaningful business in 2027.

The pending sale. On August 13, 2026, Accelerant agreed to be acquired by Thoma Bravo, the software-focused investment firm, for $20.25 a share in cash. That is an enterprise value of more than $4 billion and a 49% premium to the prior day's close. Altamont affiliates holding about 82% of the voting rights agreed to vote in favor, and Altamont and the founders plan to keep a stake. A 40-day "go-shop" period ended on September 22, 2026 without a competing bid. Closing is expected in the first half of 2027, subject to shareholder and insurance regulatory approvals. A deal like this does not cancel in-force policies, but see when your insurer is sold or merges: what happens to your policy for what to watch.

Business insurance products

Accelerant has no product catalog of its own. Its member MGAs design the coverage, set the underwriting rules within agreed limits and sell the policies. The NAIC line mix shows what the U.S. book looks like: mostly general liability, package and property business.

Accelerant says it backs underwriters that:

• have a proven underwriting record;
• focus on small and mid-sized commercial clients;
• capture data digitally;
• keep exposure to coastal catastrophes limited.

What Accelerant tells its capital partners matches that: low severity, low limits and no peak catastrophe risk. Members get five-year capacity agreements, and Accelerant says it can launch a new product in about 14 weeks. Mission helps experienced underwriters start their own programs.

One example. Rainbow, an MGA that insures restaurants and bars, joined Accelerant in 2022. It covers risks that larger carriers had been leaving and offers pay-as-you-go premiums that adjust to a restaurant's actual sales. Accelerant also introduced Rainbow to agents. Rainbow has served customers in Arizona, Texas, Michigan and Indiana, among other states. See Restaurant insurance and program business: niche insurance through program administrators.

Who it insures

In practice, small and mid-sized businesses whose agent places them in a niche MGA program. The industries depend on which programs are active, and Accelerant had more than 300 member underwriters. Admitted programs run on Accelerant National. Hard-to-place risks go to Accelerant Specialty, which only a licensed surplus lines broker can place.

The structure matters more than the brand. Accelerant shares the premium, and the risk, with its risk capital partners and earns fees on the premium that passes through. Some programs are issued by a third-party insurer on the exchange rather than by Accelerant's own companies.

How to buy

You can't buy from Accelerant directly, and its website is aimed at MGAs and investors. The path runs like this:

1. Your retail agent, sometimes working through a wholesale broker, submits your business to an MGA.
2. The MGA quotes and binds within its authority.
3. The policy is issued on Accelerant National, Accelerant Specialty or another insurer on the exchange.

To find out whether you're insured by Accelerant, check the declarations page for the issuing company. Read Managing general agents (MGAs): what they are and what they mean for buyers for how MGA programs work, and fronting arrangements and fronting carriers: how they work for how a carrier can issue a policy while reinsurers carry most of the risk.

Claims

Follow the claims instructions on your policy. In MGA programs, claims are usually handled by the MGA's own claims team or a third-party administrator, not a central Accelerant claims line. Accelerant publishes no policyholder claims phone number. Accelerant started Reserv, a claims administrator, in 2021, and it says it gives members claims support and uses AI tools to spot claims leakage and subrogation recoveries. For anything else, the general contact is [email protected].

Financial strength and ratings

In June 2025, AM Best affirmed the A- (Excellent) financial strength rating and "a-" issuer credit ratings of Accelerant National, Accelerant Specialty, Accelerant Insurance Europe and Accelerant Insurance UK. AM Best assessed the consolidated balance sheet as very strong, operating performance as adequate and the business profile as limited. After the Thoma Bravo agreement, AM Best placed the ratings under review with developing implications in August 2026. That means the ratings could go up, down or stay the same depending on how the new owner funds and runs the company. No S&P, Moody's or Fitch ratings are published.

The business is growing fast:

• In 2025, exchange written premium rose 35% and adjusted EBITDA reached $282 million.
• In the second quarter of 2026, exchange written premium was $1.32 billion, up 23%, and net income was $80 million.
• Trailing 12-month exchange premium reached $4.59 billion at June 30, 2026.
• The share written by outside insurers rose from 21% in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 47% in the second quarter of 2026.

Accelerant withdrew its 2026 guidance after signing the deal.

Strengths and weaknesses

For a policyholder, Accelerant is a source of capacity that lets niche MGAs keep writing classes standard carriers have left. The trade-offs are an A- rating, a layered structure and a pending change of control.

• Strengths: It brings five-year capacity commitments and reinsurance backing to small-business programs, such as restaurants, that struggle to find markets. It offers both admitted and surplus lines paper in the U.S. Its data platform monitors every program's performance. The deal valued the company at more than $4 billion, and the go-shop drew no rival bid.
• Weaknesses: You can't buy, quote or get service directly. Coverage, pricing and claims depend on the MGA and its administrator. The A- (Excellent) rating is under review pending the Thoma Bravo buyout, and the company will go private in 2027 if the deal closes. Surplus lines policies on Accelerant Specialty generally fall outside state guaranty fund protection. If an MGA loses its capacity, the program can move to another carrier at renewal.

How to contact Accelerant