In a fast-paced market where risks can evolve overnight, managing general agents (MGAs) face a constant challenge: balancing growth with underwriting discipline.
While expansion, such as through the rapid launch of new products that MGAs are known for, is essential for long-term success, sustainable profitability depends on a rigorous approach to underwriting and risk assessment.
For one MGA leader, growth and underwriting discipline are entwined rather than opposing forces.
“We only have the privilege to grow if we produce the results that we have promised to our partners,” said Amy Carlisle (pictured), president of MGA solutions, at MSI. “Growth and underwriting discipline are very interconnected at an MGA, even more so relative to being at a carrier.”
Unlike traditional carriers, Carlisle explained, MSI doesn’t have the luxury of investment income or cross-subsidization between product lines. Each program must stand on its own merit; however, the company’s flexible technology infrastructure enables it to course-correct quickly when needed.
“It’s not just, be fast and be profitable or disciplined and not grow at all,” Carlisle said. “Both go hand in hand, and the flexibility of being a 10-year-old MGA allows us to react very quickly and manage both profitability and growth at the same time.”
MSI is marking its 10th anniversary this year. Founded in 2015 by Jim Roche and Brian Schultz, MSI has evolved from a single-product MGA to a multi-faceted organization with over 20 offerings spanning personal, commercial, and specialty lines. It joined The Baldwin Group in 2019.
The company prepared for its milestone year with a rebrand last year. MSI also crossed the billion-dollar mark in in-force written premium, a significant achievement that Carlisle is proud of. Reflecting on the journey, she pointed to three fundamental drivers to MSI’s success: underwriting results, speed to market, and a forward-leaning mindset.
Talent has also played a critical role. “We have attracted individuals to MSI who have deep expertise in their product lines and markets,” Carlisle said. “By and large, I would say our talent has gotten us here.”
MSI’s journey hasn’t been without its challenges. Internally, the MGA has been “building the plane while flying it,” as Carlisle calls it, rapidly expanding into new lines while simultaneously developing the necessary infrastructure to support them.
“As we’ve gone from being focused on exclusively being a renter’s business into increasingly complex lines where we had to develop new technology capabilities, new expertise around different jurisdictions,” Carlisle said. “We operate in both admitted and surplus line spaces, so needing to have all the capability support to support doing both.”
At times, MSI set aggressive targets and then had to scramble to assemble the right teams, build technology, and refine processes. That said, Carlisle doesn’t view these as setbacks.
“There have been moments when we’ve gone into new product lines where we’ve had to pull folks together and collaborate as an organization to get things done,” she told Insurance Business.
Externally, the company has had to navigate the hard reinsurance markets in the property space, macroeconomic volatility in casualty lines, and shifting regulatory landscapes. These pressures have forced MSI to stay sharp, adjusting strategies in real time.
Looking ahead at the MGA landscape, Carlisle doesn’t anticipate major structural shifts in the near term but expects an uptick in consolidation. Larger MGAs, including MSI, will continue scaling and refining their operational models to function more like carriers.
“There’s a lot of single-product line type MGAs that I think will ultimately be looking for a long-term home,” she said. “So, be looking to either merge or go through acquisition into a larger MGA.”
With one billion in force premium under its belt, MSI is looking to the next phase of growth. Aside from maintaining underwriting discipline, Carlisle’s focus on talent remains central to this vision.
“As I look ahead to the next 10 years, I want to make MSI a great place for talent to grow,” she said. “We want all the people that we brought in from the outside, with all that expertise, to see MSI as a place to grow themselves.”
For new MGAs looking to carve out a space in the market, Carlisle shared her framework for success: distribution, underwriting, and technology. She said many MGAs excel in one or two of these areas but might struggle to bring all three together.
“They’ll have amazing technology that is super slick, but they might not have a product that people want,” Carlisle said. “Or they might have access to distribution, but they don’t have the people that have the underwriting sophistication and actuarial capabilities needed to support the business.”
Without all three, she said, longevity is unlikely.
Do you agree with Carlisle’s views? Have something to say about growth in the MGA space? Please share a comment below.
