Delegated authority broking has moved far beyond annual placement. Today, brokers are expected to manage the full lifecycle of the binder, from compliance and capacity to data integrity and performance, while also bringing fresh thinking to the table.
“There’s not much within the lifecycle of a binder that we don’t touch,” said Maria Rogers (pictured left), partner at Consilium Broking. “You’ve got the client relationship teams, market-facing brokers, technical staff - every binder is touched by every single person on it, all the time.”
Rogers, who has worked on both the carrier and broking side, says expectations have intensified. “It’s not become easier by any means to manage a binder,” she said. “But it’s that constant added value - making sure performance expectations align with what’s being written, that premiums are flowing, and that systems and data are working. We’re the gatekeepers for all of it.”
That expanded remit is partly a response to how much delegated business now flows through Lloyd’s. “I think it’s 45% of Lloyd’s business now, and it may become the majority in a few years’ time,” Rogers said. “With that, the expectation on brokers and MGAs is only getting heightened.”
George Besant (pictured right), who joined Consilium earlier this year, said brokers are being pushed to evolve, not just execute. “Route to market isn’t enough anymore,” he said. “You have to be asking: What are you doing mid-year? How are you helping your MGA get to the next level?”
He shared a telling conversation with a prospective client: “I very openly asked, ‘Why did you move your business from one broker to another?’ And they said, ‘We weren’t getting any fresh ideas. We’d been doing the same thing for years. The new broker was hungry, they brought new thinking. Some ideas were bad, but at least it was something different.’”
Brokers are also being asked to play a more consultative role, especially as MGAs face mounting pressures from compliance, capacity providers and customer expectations.
“Some of our clients are two- or three-person bands,” said Rogers. “They don’t have much investment in marketing or compliance, so we offer what we call an MGA MOT – a light-touch review. We help them modernise how they present themselves, make sure they’re reaching the right audience. Ultimately it helps scale the binder, and that benefits everyone.”
At the same time, brokers are investing in infrastructure to support MGAs across the lifecycle. “MGAs are often the incubators for innovation,” Besant said. “If we can't at least be on par with them, if not ahead, we’ll be left behind.”
Rogers added that Consilium had invested in its tech stack during the recent hard market, which helped future-proof its offering. “Now that rates are softening, we’re ready,” she said. “We can model how a client’s book will look with a 20% rate drop, or deductible changes. That puts them on the front foot.”
As brokers push into advisory territory, regulation and transparency are playing a larger role in their day-to-day work.
Besant recalled a conversation with a carrier who had exited a high-performing delegated portfolio – not because of loss ratios, but due to a lack of visibility into customer treatment and conduct risks. The regulatory burden, he explained, outweighed the financial returns. “One carrier told me, ‘We had a fantastic portfolio, great underwriting results. But we didn’t actually know much about it,’” he said.
In that environment, brokers increasingly need to coach their MGA clients – not just secure them capacity. “Conduct, data and transparency are almost on par with underwriting results now,” Besant said. “If you only have one of the three, you’re not going to survive.”
While some see Lloyd’s as burdensome, Rogers said its framework actually offers an advantage. “It might be cumbersome, but at least it’s consistent,” she said. “Go down the Lloyd’s route and you’ve ticked the box for 84 syndicates. Try the same with the company market, and every carrier has their own rules.”
Not all brokers operate at the same level – and that’s increasingly visible in how delegated authority business is placed and managed.
“It really is quite stark – the difference in service by firm and by individual,” said Rogers. “We’ve got 14 products under our platform that are API-enabled. But unless insurers and clients are on the same level with tech and service, you can’t complete the chain.”
Besant noted that while many brokers see value in binders, only a few truly prioritize them. “They’ve become dominant, and that’s left less space for others,” he said. “But there’s still a gap for those who deliver a full, holistic view to MGAs.”
Despite the tech and data focus, personal connection still matters. “We’re already planning our 2026 travel strategy,” said Rogers. “It might sound early, but face-to-face time moves things forward faster than Teams calls ever could. Clients also value our independence, they know we’re not part of a larger group that might shift priorities or disappear.”
As Besant put it, MGAs “live and die by their service and their capacity”, and if the capacity relationship isn’t right, other support often isn’t enough to keep the business afloat.
Staying close to syndicates and market appetite, Besant added, is essential for brokers who want to secure both capacity and credibility on behalf of their clients.
