Commercial Express has launched a delegated authority schemes division, aimed at specialist and niche risks that brokers have previously struggled to place. The West Midlands managing general agent (MGA) has appointed Nicki Crabb (pictured), formerly head of eTrade and schemes trading at Covéa, as delegated authority schemes director to lead it.
The division will develop schemes under delegated authority, allowing specialist risks that fall within agreed parameters to be priced and bound without referring each case to a carrier. Capacity comes from Fortegra and Ascot, both of which already back existing Commercial Express products.
Founder and managing director Duncan Pritchard said the division addresses opportunities the business had identified but lacked the dedicated resource to pursue.
"We have been approached by brokers with opportunities for delegated authority schemes that we have not previously had the capability, experience or capacity to support," he said. "We can now offer a dedicated proposition built around those opportunities."
Crabb said the gap is particularly acute where a specialist risk needs underwriting expertise, named capacity and speed to market together.
"There is a real opportunity to give brokers greater access to delegated underwriting," she said. "Commercial Express has the relationships, infrastructure and appetite to develop schemes in a way that is responsive to brokers and their clients."
The launch is the next step in a transition Commercial Express has been pursuing since early 2026, as it moves from MGA towards managing general underwriter (MGU) status, a structure carrying greater underwriting responsibility than a standard MGA. The firm posted 36% growth in 2024, reaching gross written premium of £35.75 million, and is targeting £100 million by 2029.
The schemes division enters a growing delegated authority market. MGAs now account for more than 10% of the UK's £47 billion general insurance market, and the MGAA projects that delegated authority's overall market share will exceed 45% by 2027.
That growth is drawing regulatory attention. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its first sector-specific Regulatory Priorities report for insurance in February 2026. It flagged delegated authority arrangements as a distinct focus area, extending the regulator's oversight to remuneration arrangements and the use of AI in underwriting and claims for the first time.
For brokers placing business through delegated structures, that scrutiny makes the quality of capacity and the strength of governance behind a scheme as important as its pricing.
Pritchard said the division is built around speed and flexibility for brokers, with capacity quality and underwriting expertise central to how schemes are developed and sustained.
