With the MGAA Conference due to kick off today, NBS Underwriting has been named the highest-performing managing general agent (MGA) in the UK general insurance market, according to Insurance DataLab’s 2025 MGA Performance Report.
The business secured an overall performance rating of 76.7%, placing it at the top of this year’s rankings and earning its first Gold Award from the market intelligence provider.
The recognition follows a year of significant expansion for NBS Underwriting, which reported a 90% increase in revenue and nearly tripled its operating profit. The company’s performance was supported by the acquisition of The Underwriting Specialist Limited and the launch of several new specialist schemes.
The Insurance DataLab report evaluates MGAs across three core performance indicators: profitability, growth and productivity. The highest-rated firms receive Gold Awards. NBS Underwriting was joined by five other MGAs in receiving this recognition.
Provego ranked second with a performance rating of 69.0%, followed by Ambridge Europe (67.8%), Volante International (67.7%), Aqueous Management (66.8%), and MPR Underwriting (66.0%).
While top-performing MGAs posted strong individual results, overall market performance showed mixed trends. The average performance rating for the sector remained unchanged at 53.4%. Productivity improved, with the average productivity rating rising by 1.5 percentage points to 57.5% -- the highest since Insurance DataLab began tracking the sector. The increase was driven by an 8% rise in revenue per employee, while staff costs remained steady at 41% of revenue.
Profitability and growth ratings declined slightly. The average profitability rating dropped to 49.3%, down 0.6 percentage points from the previous year, and the growth rating eased to 55.4% from 55.9%. Despite this, aggregate revenue across the MGA cohort rose 17.1% year-on-year, up from 10% growth the previous year, pushing total reported revenues past the £1 billion mark for the first time.
Performance varied widely between individual MGAs, with revenue changes ranging from a decline of 34% to growth of 166%.
Insurance DataLab co-founder Matt Scott said MGAs had continued to demonstrate adaptability in a competitive environment. He highlighted productivity as a key area of improvement and noted that medium-sized MGAs had outperformed both their smaller and larger counterparts.
