Brown & Brown has entered a partnership with specialist MGA Progeny Underwriting, giving its broker network access to an exclusive agricultural proposition in the UK market.
The arrangement is built around a three-year delegated authority agreement and is aimed at providing brokers with more options in a segment where cover is often highly commoditised.
The move adds further depth to its agriculture capabilities in the UK, where the group has been expanding through broker acquisitions and regional build-outs.
Progeny has agreed a three-year binder backed by MSIG Europe SE, with AXA XL and HB Underwriting providing additional capacity on separate lines. The facility gives all Brown & Brown brokers access to a package that brings together core farm and motor cover with specialist products for livestock herd and disease risks, alongside Progeny Protect, a management liability product created specifically for legal and regulatory risks in the agricultural sector.
The structure means day-to-day farm and rural business risks can be placed under a single, capacity-backed scheme while also accessing more tailored solutions for higher-severity exposures.
The ability to combine farm, motor, livestock and management liability in one facility is intended to support brokers seeking to compete on coverage and service rather than price alone.
Working with the agriculture team at Brown & Brown, Progeny has developed products designed to reflect the practical needs of farmers and rural businesses, with an emphasis on relevant cover, claims support and options that offer clear points of difference in a crowded market.
The arrangement includes exclusive facilities with MSIG for farm and motor, livestock herd and disease cover described as market-first, and Progeny Protect, which was recently launched at Brown & Brown Agriculture’s internal conference in Birmingham. Sector-specific management liability is intended to address risks such as health and safety, environmental obligations and employment issues, which have become more prominent for farm businesses.
The partnership comes against a backdrop of sustained pressure on the UK farming sector, including higher input costs, more volatile weather patterns and tighter margins. For intermediaries, these conditions have increased the importance of demonstrating value beyond premium, particularly around the breadth of cover, clarity of wordings and the quality of claims handling.
Market analysis suggests that agricultural insurance revenues have been supported by product development and efforts to tailor cover to increasingly diverse farm businesses. In this environment, specialist MGAs with delegated authority from multiple insurers are playing a larger role in deploying capacity into niche segments such as livestock disease and management liability.
"This partnership delivers a genuinely differentiated proposition in a specialist sector for Brown & Brown brokers, strengthening their proposition in an area where choice can often be limited," said Alun Roberts, CEO and founder of Progeny.
