Age of the MGA

Lights, Camera, Action: The Age of the MGA is NOW. Join us for episode one on April 7th 🚀 Douglas Ver Mulm Dylan Brand Peter Tilbrook

From CERAWeek, Andrew George, the newly appointed president of Marsh Specialty, shares how companies in the energy industry are facing issues around reliability, technology, and regulations. Find out how we’re helping them navigate these issues: https://bit.ly/3DFLdYf #CERAWeek #energy #RiskManagement

Upland Specialty Insurance: 2025 E&S Market Outlook The U.S. excess and surplus (E&S) insurance market experienced a compound annual growth rate of 21% over the past five years. It is anticipated that the 2025 E&S market will maintain its growth trajectory, but at a more moderate rate with total direct premiums projected to exceed $100 billion.  The market's flexibility and capacity for innovation will continue to attract clients seeking coverage for unique exposures.      The 2024 growth rate slowed down from previous years due to tempering market conditions in some predominant E&S product lines.  “Despite this, the market did see expansion driven by factors such as higher loss activity, increased reinsurance costs, and a limited appetite among admitted carriers to write business in catastrophe-prone areas due to the increasing severity of natural disasters and social inflation,” stated Jim Damonte, President and Chief Underwriting Officer for Upland.      The E&S insurance market is expected to remain in a hard market phase in 2025 and continue to experience elevated premiums, stricter underwriting standards, and reduced capacity for certain risks.  Increased Loss Activity due to the rising frequency and severity of natural disasters, such as hurricanes and wildfires, have led to higher claims costs as well as the growing trend of larger jury awards and settlements in liability cases becoming a significant factor. Higher reinsurance costs have also been passed down to primary insurers, contributing to increased pricing combined with the ongoing economic challenges and inflationary pressures adding to the overall risk environment.      Claims Outlook   Across the market, rising social inflation and the continued growth of third-party litigation funding (TPLF) continue to impact claims outcomes. One of the leading players in the TPLF arena recently announced a goal to raise $1 billion for its new fund.   “On a positive note, several ongoing Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) suits in the New York construction sector continue to develop and gain momentum,” added Rich Smith, Upland Chief Claims Officer. “The tort reform legislation unveiled by Georgia’s governor also marks a positive trend following Florida’s tort reform in 2023.”   Technology Outlook   “At Upland, we continue to evaluate transformative technology like AI to augment our well-defined business process workflows to allow our teams to scale,” stated Kate Walas, Chief Operating Officer. “We start small, focusing on solving business inefficiencies, automating lower-level tasks and incrementally building on success. Our goal is to deliver decision making insights for our Underwriters that allows them to optimize their workflows while continually improving the experience for our customers.” To review the entire white paper, visit https://lnkd.in/gpTfF9nE

Generalist insurance distribution is DEAD...MGAs who don't get this will die too. Here’s a truth bomb most MGAs refuse to accept... The days of generalist distribution are over. Having a niche product isn’t your advantage... It’s the bare minimum to survive. If you’re not aggressively marketing niche-specific content directly to consumers, And building powerful retail agency partners who can sell effectively… Your competitors soon will. Healthcare saw generalists become extinct. Specialists now dominate the industry (and make the REAL money). Real specialization transforms industries. Insurance distribution is following that exact same path. And, it's happening faster than you think. You may sit back and keep doing what you're doing. Or, take action and transform your business. My prediction? MGAs and retail insurance agencies who double down on industry niche specialization, master niche education and direct marketing, Providing world-class risk management solutions, will control markets. Everyone else? Extinction awaits. Are you ready to evolve—or become extinct (just like the generalist primary care physicians of the present day healthcare model did)?

Congrats to Julie Gibbs and the Allianz Commercial team. A key role in the Delegated Authority space:

Great opportunity for MGAs to get additional exposure and interact with the team Scout InsurTech:

Important insight for MGAs looking to source capacity…

One common misconception given the abundance of MGA's in the #insurance space is that launching an MGA is a straightforward process. It is anything but, it takes great resilience and strength. 📜 Capacity is not readily available 💰 The investment landscape is complicated 💪 Competition is fierce The Age of the MGA aims to cover all aspects of what it really takes to launch an MGA, brining in some incredible guests giving their perspectives and insight. My cohost Dylan Brand is living and breathing this journey, and Douglas Ver Mulm is a true expert in the space. Together with the support of Rob Jacomen we are building the foundation of a podcast that speaks to the core of the hottest trend within insurance. Come and join us.

"I'm not sure of many things, but it’s clear that this extraordinary growth of the MGA market is here to stay. It's where the talent is going. You give people specialization, independence, ownership — it’s hard to put the genie back in the bottle. And I'm going to bet on that individual owner-operator every time." – Jeff Radke, cofounder and CEO of Accelerant The MGA model continues to prove its strength, driven by specialized expertise, entrepreneurial spirit, and deep industry knowledge. The future belongs to those who know their markets best—and we’re here to help them scale.