2025: Managing General Agents - Built for What's Next
In 2024, MGAs sustained their strong growth momentum, once again outpacing the broader property-casualty insurance market. This expansion in premiums was driven by persistent hard market conditions across multiple segments and continued access to underwriting capacity through fronting insurers. Additionally, MGA premiums backed by Lloyd’s syndicates— longstanding leaders in supporting MGAs in the U.S.—rose by 14% during the year
Most MGAs focus on niche markets, drawing on specialized risk expertise and strong distribution relationships. For insurers, reinsurers, and alternative capital providers, MGAs offer a “plug-and-play” solution to access these segments without needing to invest heavily in underwriting talent or operational infrastructure. A significant share of MGA business is written in the E&S (excess and surplus lines) market, which is well-suited for harder-to-place or volatile risks. In recent years, rising perceived volatility across multiple lines has accelerated the shift toward E&S, which has grown at a compound annual rate of 19% since 2019.
The twelfth edition of the Strategic Study on the U.S. MGA sector offers a timely opportunity to examine the long-term trends that have reshaped the property-casualty landscape and elevated MGAs to a more prominent role in the market. In this report, we address the following topics:
- a review of important market trends
- an analysis of premium flows and insurer relationships
- a summary of our 2024 survey of MGAs and insurers
Table of Contents:
- Introduction
- Executive Summary
- MGA Market 2024 Key Trends and Developments
- 2024 MGA Market Landscape
- Program Market Insurer Trends
- MGA Premium Trends
- Conning’s 2025 MGA and Program Market Survey
- M&A in the Program Markets
- Fronting Model is Here to Stay... With Some Changes
Appendix
- Methodology and Definition of MGA Premium Analysis
- Overview of the MGA Market
- Conning MGA Dataset
Introduction
This is Conning’s twelfth annual study on the property-casualty program business market. Conning includes the following in its property-casualty program business universe: (1) MGAs (managing general agents), (2) MGUs (managing general underwriters), and (3) PAs (program administrators, also known as program managers). Throughout this study, the term “MGA” is used as a general term meant to capture distribution firms that operate with some degree of delegated authority from an insurer or capital provider. We analyze 2024 reported results for this group as well as related M&A (merger and acquisition) activity.