Curotech secures Accredited capacity for new E&S commercial property program

Tech-driven commercial property MGA Curotech Specialty has launched a new E&S facility fronted and underwritten by Accredited Specialty Insurance Company (ASIC) targeting SME and middle market “main street” business, The Insurer can reveal.

The deal is the first property program to be onboarded by Randall & Quilter-owned Accredited America’s A- AM Best-rated E&S subsidiary.

The program will offer up to $20mn of commercial property capacity, or $5mn for coastal states, and complements Curotech’s existing commercial property offerings.

It will offer coverage for all risk perils, low hazard flood and quake and coastal wind for risks distributed on behalf of wholesale brokers.

Curotech is a tech-driven business that has a dedicated in-house software engineering team that it says has developed a “fully integrated underwriting platform linking all processes from submissions to quotes to policy issuance to claims management”.

Licensed in 34 states, the MGA is led by former Rockhill, Ariel and Barbican underwriting executive Kim Rhodes as president and partner.

ASIC and the group’s US admitted carrier Accredited Surety and Casualty Company provide fronting capacity for MGAs and sit between them and reinsurers which supply underwriting capital.

Aon’s Reinsurance Solutions arm is understood to have worked on the Curotech program with Accredited, assembling a panel of A rated reinsurers to support the offering from both sides of the Atlantic.

The launch comes at a time when the property reinsurance market remains firm for new programs without any operational history, especially if there is critical cat exposure.

Commenting on the partnership, Rhodes said: “Accredited Specialty is the perfect partner for Curotech with a true focus on underwriting discipline and building a profitable portfolio. Putting the program together has been a collaborative effort with expertise brought from both Accredited Specialty and Curotech.”

She highlighted Curotech’s transparent operation, which is enabled by its real-time underwriting platform.

“Curotech is essentially an extension of the Accredited Specialty underwriting team and will benefit from the experience brought by the Accredited Specialty leadership,” the executive added.

Accredited’s property CUO Paul Amrose, who joined the expansive platform earlier this year from Ascot, said Curotech is “emblematic” of the partnerships ASIC is building in the property hybrid fronting space.

“[It’s] an MGA led by seasoned professionals whose core competency is underwriting, who leverage technology to enhance underwriting decisions, and originate business through specialised distribution,” he commented.

Accredited America CEO Pat Rastiello added: “Curotech is a best-in-class MGA. Kim Rhodes and her team have exceptional underwriting talent and systems. We are proud to have built this facility with them and look forward to a long and profitable relationship.”

ASIC secured its A- AM Best rating in December last year and has been addressing a strong pipeline of program deals in 2021.

It signed up a North American Free Trade Agreement cross-border trucking program written by Southern Star as its first deal in March.