Interests alignedIf you were to ask program administrators and MGAs the one thing that keeps them awake at night, it’s a fair bet that many of them would say “capacity”.
No slowdown in sightWelcome to a bumper issue of Program Manager, packed to the rafters with exclusive content, interviews and, of course, updates from the Target Markets Program Administrators Association Annual Summit, which took place last week.
Target Markets initial take: MGA casualty squeeze concerns amid overall optimistic outlookAnother vibrant Target Markets Annual Summit is drawing to a close today with record numbers (officially north of 1,600 and unofficially much higher) demonstrating the continued appeal of the segment to talent, investors, capacity providers and distribution.
Navigating a tighter reinsurance market…After a benign first half of the Atlantic hurricane season, the mood music from last month’s Monte Carlo Rendez-Vous had signaled that upcoming reinsurance renewals would likely follow the pattern seen in 2024, with moderate softening in the 5-10 percent range.
A hotbed for innovationWelcome to the first of our two newsletters from the Target Markets Program Administrators Association Annual Summit, which has once again attracted a record number of attendees.
Fronting upThere is a strong fronting carrier focus to this month’s edition of Program Manager, with a lead article focused on an insurer operating in the market, an interview with another, and an update from Conning on the specialist sector’s growth.
Flurry of renewable start-ups highlight MGA sector appealReaders of Program Manager will of course be well versed in the important role that MGAs and MGUs play within the global (re)insurance industry.
A force for good in a golden age…It was a real pleasure to welcome a record number of you to our Program Manager Conference and Awards at Manhattan’s Gotham Hall last month.
In a holding pattern…The MGA and programs sector – along with the E&S market – has been out-growing the broader P&C industry for a number of years, reaching a record size measured by various premium metrics.
Strong themes and variations as MGA sector continues driving forwardWith no let-up in the news flow around the still-burgeoning MGA sector, the first half of the industry conference season is also picking up pace.
MGA and programs space riding the coattails of further E&S growthEyes will be on our sister publication E&S Insurer's second annual conference next week as a proxy for the growth prospects of the MGA and programs space.
LatAm and Caribbean finds MGAs firmly in favourHow the international insurance market – and in particular those syndicates operating in Lloyd’s – can tap into the fast-growing (re)insurance market in Latin America and the Caribbean has long been a question on the minds of company management.
Fronting carrier M&A: Take 2This time last year MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings had just completed its $400mn-plus acquisition of hybrid fronting carrier Transverse Insurance Group, in a deal that was widely viewed as a bellwether for valuations in the sector similar to Markel’s 2017 move to buy State National.
Headwinds and adverse headlines cast shadow over MGA sector despite growthAny scene-setting thematic article on the MGA and programs sector at the start of 2023 would have looked at topics such as capacity challenges, the evolution of the fronting sector, M&A and the growth trajectory in the delegated underwriting authority space. But instead it was a scandal from the left field that became the biggest headline of the year.
UK in the front seatPlenty has been written about the booming US MGA market and demand for fronting services that drove a wave of start-ups to the sector.
State National move is a vote of confidence in UK MGA/program sectorState National has long been considered the Goldman Sachs of fronting. Its pedigree, reputation and balance sheet strength set it apart from the recent arrivistes – often private equity backed and keen to capture a share of the buoyant MGA/program management sector.
Clear Blue passes the Vesttoo testWhen Clear Blue relaunched its recap process with Piper Sandler back in the early summer, few could have predicted what was to unfold in the coming weeks and months.
Still striking a chord in the echo chamber…Another record attendance at the Target Markets Annual Summit in Scottsdale last week appears symbolic of a US MGA and program sector that continues to grow.
Bullish outlook despite casualty concerns and Vesttoo falloutA record attendance of more than 1,500 at this year’s Target Markets Annual Summit, as well as the reaccelerating 2022 growth reported in the association’s latest study, tells the story of a US programs sector in rude health.
The show will go on…A look back at some of the headlines Program Manager has published in 2023 so far could make for ugly reading for participants in the MGA and fronting space especially.