Vertafore's Emily McGinn on Where MGA Growth Goes Next

Last month Vertafore announced that reThought Flood picked its PL Rating comparative rater to reach more independent agencies with private flood coverage. It's a small deal that points at a bigger trend: MGAs are growing faster than the broader P&C market, and how they reach retail agents is changing.

We asked Emily McGinn, General Manager of MGA and Wholesale at Vertafore, where MGAs are finding growth, what agents now expect from their MGA partners, what breaks when an MGA tries to scale, and what MGA leaders should prepare for in 2027. Her answers are below, lightly edited.

Vertafore recently announced that reThought Flood selected PL Rating to expand its retail distribution. What does this partnership illustrate about how MGAs can use comparative rating platforms to reach more independent agencies?

reThought Flood is a great example of how MGAs can expand their distribution by plugging into networks that already exist, rather than trying to build something new.

Independent agents already have established workflows and technology they use every day. The opportunity for MGAs is to become part of those workflows, making it easier for agents to access their products without having to go somewhere else or learn a new system.

With Vertafore's existing agency relationships, open APIs, and connectivity, reThought Flood can reach more independent agents through a platform they're already using. That's how we help MGAs achieve Distribution Velocity, by connecting platforms and partners across the insurance value chain to reduce friction, eliminate unnecessary handoffs and make it easier for agents to do business. The bigger lesson for MGAs is that expanding distribution isn't necessarily about building a bigger network. It's about making your products easier to access within the workflows agents already use.

As risks evolve and traditional insurance markets struggle to keep pace, where do you see the greatest growth opportunities for MGAs?

Risks are evolving faster than traditional insurance markets can adapt to or necessarily have an appetite for. That's creating a lot of opportunities for MGAs that have the specialized expertise to address those risks.

Climate-based risks are a great example. Wildfire risk in Colorado can look very different from wildfire risk in North Carolina, and accurately assessing those risks requires increasingly specialized information. The same goes for flooding. Historically, the industry relied on things like FEMA flood maps, but risks are changing faster than those models can keep up. That's where MGAs with specialized underwriting expertise have an opportunity.

The second big area is commercial risks that don't fit traditional rating models. Think about how much has changed in just the last five years. We've seen the growth of the cannabis industry, short-term rentals like Airbnb, the gig economy and increasing cyber exposures for small businesses. And now AI is creating entirely new risks. Traditional insurance products and rating models weren't necessarily designed to address the exposures we're seeing today.

We're also seeing opportunities in more traditional commercial lines, like hospitality, restaurants and small contractors, where some carriers are becoming more selective about the business they want to write. These aren't necessarily new or unusual risks, but they may no longer fit a carrier's underwriting appetite.

That's what's driving so much of the opportunity in the MGA market. Whether it's emerging risks or more traditional business that carriers are moving away from, MGAs have the flexibility and specialized expertise to respond to coverage needs as the market changes.

As specialty insurance becomes a bigger part of the independent agent's business, how is the relationship between MGAs and retail agencies evolving? What do agents increasingly expect from their MGA partners?

Historically, independent agents would go directly to carriers first and turn to MGAs when they couldn't place a risk. Now, MGAs are becoming a bigger part of agents' everyday business as agents expand into more traditional commercial lines and emerging risks.

As that relationship evolves, agents increasingly expect three things from their MGA partners: speed, connectivity, and data transparency.

Speed and ease of doing business are critical. Agents want quotes in minutes and a seamless process from clearance to quote to bind. They're often submitting business to multiple markets, so the MGA that responds quickly has an advantage.

Connectivity is just as important. Agents don't want to rekey information or jump between systems. They want information to flow from their agency management systems and the ability to get things done without unnecessary manual work. MGAs that integrate into existing workflows have a better opportunity to win business and retain it at renewal.

Finally, agents want more data transparency. They want to know where a submission stands, why it was declined and what would make it bindable. It's not just about getting a quote back but understanding the why behind it.

According to Conning, MGA premium growth more than doubled that of the broader P&C market in 2025. What's driving that growth, and how is the role of MGAs evolving within insurance distribution?

Three things are driving that growth: carriers looking for specialized underwriting expertise, increased private equity investment, and the rapid evolution of risks.

Carriers are looking to MGAs for what I call "renting underwriting expertise." Rather than building out their own teams and developing expertise in niche markets, carriers can partner with MGAs that already have the specialized knowledge and a proven track record. That allows carriers to participate in those markets without having to build expertise themselves.

We're also seeing significantly more private equity investment in the MGA market. Investors recognize that MGAs can be highly profitable businesses because of their specialized expertise. That influx of capital is fueling further expansion and growth.

And finally, risks are evolving faster than traditional insurance markets can adapt. Many emerging risks don't fit neatly into standard insurance products, creating more opportunities for MGAs to step in with specialized coverage. Together, these trends are making MGAs an increasingly important part of insurance distribution. They're not just filling gaps in traditional coverage. They're bringing the expertise, flexibility, and market access that carriers and agents need as risks become more complex.

As competition increases across the MGA market, what are the biggest challenges MGAs face when trying to scale their businesses? How can they balance growth with operational efficiency?

What gets an MGA to $50 million in premiums isn't necessarily what will get it to $200 million. Smaller MGAs can be incredibly successful by relying on relationships and specialized underwriting expertise. But that approach doesn't scale. As submission volumes grow, MGAs need the back-end infrastructure to support that growth. That's where AI and automation become critical, reducing operational drag, streamlining workflows, and giving underwriters more time to focus on evaluating risks and winning business.

The second challenge is data. As MGAs grow, they can't rely on manual spreadsheets and processes that introduce errors. They need systems that support accurate reporting and give carrier partners confidence in the business.

And finally, there's talent. Specialized underwriting expertise is difficult to find and even harder to replace. MGAs need to attract and retain those experts, and technology plays a big role in that. Today's workforce expects modern tools and streamlined workflows, not outdated systems and manual data entry. MGAs need to remove those everyday frustrations so underwriters can spend more time applying their expertise instead of navigating inefficient processes.

As AI becomes more integrated into MGA operations, where should MGAs focus their investments to scale their businesses without adding operational complexity?

The biggest mistake MGAs can make is treating AI as something they can bolt onto a broken process. That might solve a short-term problem, but as the business scales, those same inefficiencies will surface again. MGAs need to be intentional about where they deploy AI and look at the entire workflow to identify where they can remove friction and unnecessary handoffs.

It starts with high-volume, low-judgment work like submission intake, where AI can have a meaningful impact on capacity, bind rates, and speed. Take an MGA with five underwriters reviewing eight submissions a day. How can AI help those same underwriters review 10? By reducing manual work and streamlining intake, MGAs can increase the capacity of their existing teams and give underwriters more time to evaluate risks and focus on the business they're most likely to win.

Speed to market is another critical opportunity. MGAs are constantly identifying new risks and launching specialized programs. AI can help accelerate the workflows needed to bring those programs to market, allowing MGAs to start quoting and binding business sooner. That's how MGAs can use AI to scale more efficiently while reducing operational drag across the underwriting process.

Looking ahead to 2027, what changes do you expect in the MGA market, particularly around specialty insurance growth, distribution strategies and the role of AI? What should MGA leaders be preparing for now?

Specialty insurance will continue to grow, but that growth will become more selective. Capacity isn't disappearing, but carriers and capacity providers are becoming more disciplined about which MGAs they back. They want partners with strong underwriting expertise, clean data, and the operational infrastructure to support sustainable growth.

We're also going to see more consolidation. Larger MGAs are expanding through acquisitions, and the market is shifting toward more methodical growth rather than simply launching new programs or entering new markets. As a result, more premium growth will likely become concentrated among MGAs that have demonstrated they can scale efficiently, maintain underwriting discipline, and deliver reliable data to their carrier partners.

AI will play a critical role in that shift. A year ago, having AI capabilities could set an MGA apart. Now, AI is quickly becoming table stakes. MGAs need to have a clear strategy for using AI to increase capacity, improve bind rates, and move faster. It's no longer enough to experiment with AI as a standalone project. It needs to be embedded into how the business operates.

For MGA leaders, the priority now is building an operating model that can support long-term growth. That means investing in clean data, scalable technology, and AI capabilities that deliver measurable business value. The MGAs that get those fundamentals right will be better positioned to expand into new markets and grow sustainably in 2027 and beyond.

Emily McGinn is General Manager, MGA and Wholesale at Vertafore, responsible for product development, professional services and customer service for Vertafore's MGA and wholesale clients.