The Great Unbundling: Insurance, Rewritten by Operators

This guest article from Michelle Bothe, first appeared HERE

Welcome to the Great Unbundling Part 1.

We’re in the early innings of what I call “The MGA Reformation.”

Just like media broke away from cable monopolies into podcasts, Substacks, and indie studios—insurance is mid-unraveling. Carriers are doubling down on capital. MGAs are and have been stepping in to build, distribute, and innovate.
But this isn’t a rebranding. It’s a realignment of power and production.

MGAs currently manage just 1% of global premium volume, but the shift is accelerating:

In the U.S. alone, MGAs wrote $70B+ in premium in 2022—up nearly 20% YoY

McKinsey projects MGAs could command 5–10% of total P&C premium by 2035

In cyber, embedded, and specialty lines, they’re already the go-to model


That delta? It’s a window—and it won’t stay open forever.

The MGA Reformation matters because the rules have changed.

Capacity is more readily available. Infra is modular. Distribution is unbundled.

But the winners won’t be those with the slickest pitch deck.

They’ll be the ones who know how to operate—really operate.

This is the land grab. Not everyone gets a shovel.

Less Salesforce. More Notion.

Less answering machine. More Slack thread.

Less Scholastic book fair. More Kindle library in your pocket.

Less Cable. More Netflix.

Less McDonald’s. More Sweetgreen.

Less Encyclopedia Britannica. More Wikipedia.

Distribution is decentralizing. Niche is power.

But operational muscle and underwriting credibility? Still non-negotiable.

1. Capacity Is Splintering

Carriers want diversification.

Reinsurers want specialty exposure.

Neither wants to overhaul their operating model to get it.

That’s where MGAs come in.

MGAs are the pressure valves of modern insurance.

They let carriers test new markets, enter niche classes, and iterate—without a 24-month transformation initiative or 14 steering committees.

MGAs offer a way to explore risk niches—like cyber, embedded, specialty E&S or parametric—MGAs are how capacity gets to move faster and learn smarter without building new underwriting infrastructure from scratch.

| MGAs aren’t just distribution.

MGAs are how carriers outsource controlled experimentation—while keeping their institutional rhythm intact.

And in a world where volatility is high and underwriting discipline is king —

that’s strategic gold.

This isn’t just helpful for MGAs. It’s a win for carriers, too.

They get speed, specialization, and segment exposure—without the bureaucratic drag. And unlike five years ago, the infrastructure and trust layers now exist to make this relationship work from Day 1.

What used to feel risky in the early days of insurtech now feels necessary.

This is no longer innovation theater—it’s innovation with a balance sheet.

 

 

 

What’s Different in 2025?

Five years ago, this relationship was still fuzzy:

• Carriers were skeptical
• MGAs were undercapitalized
• Everyone wanted transparency, but no one had the tools to deliver it

Now?

• Shared playbooks exist
  Carriers and MGAs align on who handles billing and claims, bordereaux, audit rights, and performance from Day 1.
• Tools like Faroe make the relationship operationally sound
• You can reconcile premium, surface real-time data, and show fully auditable transaction level details
• The best MGAs act like programs—not experiments
• Spend your energy where it matters: your niche, your risk appetite, your distribution edge.
• Show up with a plan. Capacity partners want alignment, visibility, and sophistication. The MGAs who get capacity now speak that language fluently.
  
  Let’s be honest—carriers need the right MGA partners.

• Modern distribution
• Segment-specific underwriting
• Product-led growth
  —without blowing up their internal rhythm

So yes, capacity is splintering.

But more importantly:

It’s findable, usable, and partner-able in ways it just wasn’t five years ago.

2. Talent Is Breaking Free

There’s a quiet revolt happening.

Operators are walking out of legacy carriers—not out of burnout, but out of conviction.

They’re done watching slow ships steer in circles. Or more like weekly meetings that will continue every week, without much substance.

They want speed. Ownership. Impact.

They’re choosing MGAs.

This isn’t the startup you launch for a quick flip.

It’s the build where you:

• Flex your intelligence
• Reclaim autonomy
• Create something that actually works
  
  

No 12-person signoff chains. No “wait for Q4.” No begging three departments for permission.

The best MGA founders I know aren’t chasing headlines. They’re solving for precision, speed, and impact—and yeah, most days their teams are just trying to stay afloat.

But the upside?

Nail it, and you don’t just build a company.

You build leverage, reputation, and the kind of outcome that could shift the ecosystem.

👋 That’s a Wrap (for Issue No. 1) Stay tuned for part 2 of this topic

This is the very first issue of this newsletter—written for people building MGAs, running programs, and wrestling with the unglamorous, operational guts of insurance.

I love this industry. Not in an abstract way—in a sleeves-rolled-up, spreadsheet-sifting, policy-tracing kind of way.

I’ve spent the past decade and a half working across carriers, MGAs, and reinsurers. And I plan to keep building in this space for the next ten years and beyond.