MGAs are the fastest-growing insurance sector in the UK and the MGAA, the trade body representing the sector, now counts 270 MGA members, up from 249 a year earlier, per the MGAA 2026 Annual Report.
The sector has grown through an unrivalled knack for innovation. By responding rapidly to the evolving risk landscape, UK MGA offerings now span every product line, from more traditional policies through to innovative cover for drones, cyber risks, electric vehicles and beyond. UK MGAs are also experts at utilising the latest technology to deliver the best value and experience to customers.
But the insurance landscape doesn’t stay still for long and ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainty presents new challenges for UK MGAs. A softening market and increased competition also mean they must work harder to differentiate themselves and remain profitable. Here are a few of our thoughts on how UK MGAs can position themselves for growth:
Strengthen and diversify capacity relationships
A softer insurance market means capacity is more readily available and UK MGAs can take advantage of this shift to strengthen and diversify their capacity relationships. Strong partnerships can be a real differentiator when selling through brokers, with one study finding that the financial strength of an MGA’s capacity partner plays a major role in broker decision-making and for 98% of brokers, capacity from an A-rated or highly rated provider increases the attractiveness of a partnership.
Yet, despite the softer market, capacity providers keep an eye on global economic uncertainty, meaning it’s vital for MGAs to proactively demonstrate their operational efficiency and performance. According to the MGA Opinion Report 2025, produced by the MGAA and Clyde & Co, more than half of MGAs (53%) are now actively exploring acquisitions and 40% are expanding into new territories, so investing in the right technology platform is non-negotiable, to generate comprehensive data and regular reporting on underwriting performance, claims and market trends. Explore new niches
UK MGAs are known as experts in specialist and hard-to-place risks and as competition intensifies, placing niche risks is where they’ll see real growth. One study by Corin Underwriting found that 80% of brokers expressed a preference for MGAs to concentrate on bespoke products tailored to specialist industries over broader market offerings. Expanding within niche areas also helps MGAs retain underwriting discipline, pricing and customer experience, rather than spreading themselves too thinly. Insly’s client base includes some key examples of how to build and manage a niche portfolio successfully, including London Marine, specialists in yacht insurance and Renovation Underwriting, which provides cover for property renovators.
Invest in digital innovation
Technology has always been central to how UK MGAs differentiate themselves and as digital innovation accelerates, adopting the latest tools and platforms is only becoming more critical for growth and profitability. AI and automation are transforming underwriting efficiency, the speed of product launches, claims processes and the sales pipeline, enabling UK MGAs to respond faster and handle more business without adding headcount. Nora, Insly’s AI layer, is a good example, it reads broker submissions in any format and helps MGAs process a far higher proportion of the quotes they receive.
As pricing pressure increases, technology will also become increasingly important in delivering the data and insights to aid quality risk selection, accurate pricing and innovative underwriting strategies. MGAs with joined-up systems and processes are at a distinct advantage in accessing high-quality data and building a profitable book of business.
Innovate distribution
Finally, while broker distribution remains at the heart of the MGA business model, growth will also increasingly come from exploring new distribution channels. Embedded insurance is predicted to be one of the fastest-growing personal lines channels in the coming years and commercial lines are likely to follow suit. For MGAs, embedding insurance directly at the point of sale enables them to reach new customer segments and setting this up is now relatively straightforward via APIs and agile insurance software.
As the UK insurance landscape continues to evolve, MGAs are uniquely positioned to capitalise on new market realities. Those that deepen capacity relationships, specialist expertise andreimagine the potential of technology will not only weather the soft market cycle but also emerge as growth leaders.
Grow with low-risk insurance software
Insly is built as low-risk insurance software: a modular, low-risk platform covering the whole insurance lifecycle, so MGAs can strengthen capacity relationships, launch niche products and open new distribution channels without betting the business on a risky rebuild. Nora, Insly’s AI layer, removes manual work from submissions, underwriting and claims on top of that foundation.
We work with 70+ MGAs and insurers and on average our customers handle double the gross written premium they managed on their previous systems.
