MGAs have to add value otherwise they do not ‘have an existence’

By Katie Scott2020-07-27T06:37:00

Industry experts say MGAs need to have a trusted relationship with carriers, that they must ‘kill them with kindness’ and make themselves ‘indispensable’ in order to thrive

The key to operating a successful managing general agent (MGA) lies in providing value-add services to carriers around distribution, underwriting and niche expertise, otherwise they “don’t have an existence” and are “just taking a fee for no good [reason]”.

Speaking at a webinar hosted by trade association the MGAA and business management consultancy DA Strategy, titled ‘How to be a ‘streetwise’ MGA in a changed world’, Bruce Carman, chief underwriting officer at Hive Aero, said: “A streetwise MGA is obviously a managing general agent working on behalf of carriers in a cost-effective way. Unless we’re going to add value, we don’t have an existence in my view.”

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