Insurtech platform Accelerant has announced the launch of its $175m reinsurance sidecar vehicle, called Flywheel Re.

The new entity is designed to provide multi-year risk capital to Accelerant and its underwriting-led specialist members.

Accelerant is engaged in working with its members to achieve profitable growth in niche specialities.

Flywheel Re has been designed with a long-term structure in mind and the insurtech believes that the structure “is starkly different from typical historical catastrophe-focused sidecars.”

It is expected to support the firm’s underwriting capacity and performance.

Accelerant co-founder and CEO Jeff Radke said: “This is a natural extension of the work we have been doing to support specialist underwriters with additional capacity. But it also marks a major milestone in our journey as a company, and for the insurance industry at large.

“We are now expanding our focus and diversifying sources of capital alongside the traditional reinsurance market by bringing our portfolio of low-volatility commercial SME risks to institutional investors in an innovative structure that efficiently supports our members’ growth.”

Founded in 2018, the US-headquartered entity is focused on serving small and medium-sized businesses via advanced data and intelligence tools.

Goldman Sachs was the placement agent and Sidley Austin served as the legal counsel to Accelerant.

Earlier this year, the data-powered insurtech raised over $190m in funding at a pre-money valuation of $2bn.

Most recently, the firm announced that it has opened European Union headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.