New Research From Optalitix Looks at MGA Pricing & Underwriting

The latest from Optalitix for you;

As insurance pricing softens and competition intensifies, managing general agents (MGAs) must modernise their pricing and underwriting operations to remain profitable, according to newly conducted independent research commissioned by underwriting and pricing insurtech Optalitix.

The report, Pricing Transformation in MGAs, reveals that digitising pricing has moved beyond planning and into implementation, with more than four in five MGAs either already modernising their pricing capabilities or planning projects within the next 12 months.

The findings suggest tomorrow’s leading MGAs will be defined not by how quickly they grow, but by how effectively they combine underwriting expertise with technology, data, enabling them to bring in AI to improve underwriting performance and profitability.

The research found:

• 35% of MGAs say pricing transformation is already underway

• 26% have largely modernised their pricing systems

• 22% plan pricing transformation projects within the next year

• 54% believe they have made significant progress over the past three years

Dani Katz, Co-founding Director of Optalitix, said: “The market is entering a new phase. As pricing softens and competition increases, underwriting precision and operational efficiency are needed to create real competitive advantage. By connecting pricing, underwriting data, and workflows, underwriters can make faster, better-informed decisions, while spending less time on administration.”

Technology investment is increasingly being driven by commercial growth rather than regulation. One-third (33%) of respondents cite growth or expansion into new markets as the biggest trigger for investing in pricing technology, ahead of competitive pressure (28%).

The report also dispels the idea that pricing transformation means getting rid of spreadsheets. Excel remains central to MGA operations, with 61% of respondents using it extensively alongside other pricing tools and only 4% saying they no longer use it. Instead, MGAs want technology that combines Excel’s flexibility with enterprise governance, deployment, and automated underwriting workflows.

AI is also viewed as a practical productivity tool rather than a replacement for underwriting expertise. Nearly four in ten respondents (39%) believe AI’s greatest benefit is reducing manual work, while 35% expect it to speed up underwriting processes.

The research also highlights that people remain the biggest barrier to transformation. A quarter (25%) of respondents cite a lack of internal skills or resources as the primary challenge, while 18% identify organisational change as the biggest hurdle.

The report concludes that the next phase of pricing transformation will focus on connecting pricing, underwriting, data, and AI into a single workflow, enabling faster decisions, stronger governance, and more profitable underwriting.