As one of the few 100% independent players left in the MGA/wholesale broker space, USG Insurance isn’t settling for off-the-shelf platforms. Instead, it’s building its own tools, designed by underwriters, to move faster, act smarter, and deliver precision in real time.
Timothy Horton (pictured), president of USG Insurance, said that autonomy shapes everything from the company’s tech infrastructure to its approach across subsidiaries. “Our systems are wrapped around an underwriting expertise and knowledge base, rather than a rigid accounting format,” Horton explains.
Speed and precision are USG’s value proposition. While most platforms serve back-end functions, USG’s tools are built to help underwriters analyze and act on data quickly.
“We can be a lot more nimble with the data we’ve collected and how we process it,” Horton said. That adaptability enables USG to present both core and recommended coverages for every classification code, meeting carrier demands and regulatory requirements in real time.
The real breakthrough isn’t just in how the systems function; it’s in how they connect. All of USG’s subsidiaries access the same centralized database, with shared capabilities to pull third-party data and collaborate across specialties.
“All subsidiaries are sharing the same database, the same capability of pulling third-party data to review and make a decision,” Horton explained.
This systematized connectivity breaks down barriers between teams, unifying pricing decisions across geographies and lines of business. That is especially critical when pricing volatile risks - habitation, transportation, wind, wildfire - where conditions change rapidly and regulatory nuances matter.
Despite the rapid rise of automation, Horton makes it clear that underwriting still needs human discernment. “Human discernment remains essential in the decision-making process - you need to feel confident that the coverage provided is adequate and be willing to stand behind it, knowing it’s a sound and profitable decision,” he said.
Even with AI and data visibility advancing, seasoned underwriters still pick up the phone to talk through borderline risks. That analog connection, between broker and carrier, remains indispensable.
“Often it still requires somebody calling their counterpart to talk about the attributes of that risk,” Horton noted.
Still, USG is far from hesitant to rely on tech. In fact, the company’s tiered data interface, offering progressively deeper visibility, was built with AI in mind. “We’re showing data at different levels, then you can take a deeper dive,” he explained. “We are leveraging AI now and expect to leverage it significantly more in the very near future.”
Much of this acceleration is possible because USG controls its own development. Free from vendor constraints, the company relies on in-house programmers, project managers, and analysts to evolve its systems on its own timeline.
That same ethos of autonomy runs through its culture. Horton doesn’t dictate how subsidiaries collaborate or split revenues. “We allow those two parties to define how they are going to work together, whether that’s a 50/50 or 60/40 split. The people closest to the risk make the call,” he said.
While many insurers are still struggling with siloed systems and conflicting internal incentives, USG’s integrated model offers clarity. “They’re seeing the exact same files. They’re updating the exact same files,” Horton said.
This operational transparency supports alignment and minimizes friction, without sacrificing flexibility. “There’s no pre-set playbook,” Horton added. “We designed our system to allow anybody to work with anybody throughout the company.”
That deceptively simple principle is reshaping how specialty underwriting gets done. At USG, adaptability isn’t just a byproduct of innovation, it’s built into the framework.
