Why Bigger No Longer Means Better in Underwriting

This insights piece is by Sean Carney, Chief Underwriting Officer, Ripe

For decades, underwriting advantage was largely determined by scale. Larger players had access to deeper actuarial expertise, broader datasets and the resources to invest in sophisticated pricing and risk models, creating barriers that smaller firms found difficult to overcome.

Today, that advantage is evolving. Richer data sources and increasingly accessible AI-driven technology are levelling the playing field, enabling specialist MGAs to compete in product areas that were previously beyond their reach.

In turn, the competitive landscape is shifting. Success increasingly depends on how effectively firms combine market insight, intelligent use of data and strategic partnerships to deliver better underwriting outcomes.

From partners to strategic growth players Zurich’s £8.1 billion acquisition of Beazley is one of the largest specialty insurance deals in recent years and is further evidence that specialist underwriting and insurance insight now commands a premium.

As competition intensifies and organic growth becomes harder to achieve, insurers are increasingly looking to acquire specialist capabilities rather than build them from scratch. Whether insurers acquire those capabilities outright or access them through specialist MGA relationships, the direction of travel is the same: niche insight is becoming as important as scale in driving profitable growth. The same trend is also reshaping the MGA market.

Once viewed primarily as distribution partners, MGAs have evolved into strategic growth engines – offering deep knowledge in niche markets, proprietary data and agile underwriting capabilities that complement the existing strengths of larger insurers. As pricing-driven growth becomes more difficult, insurers must compete harder to win and retain customers.

Working with specialist MGAs is therefore an increasingly attractive route – allowing access to underserved markets and faster product development without the time and investment spent building those capabilities from scratch. We saw this first hand when Ripe acquired GJW Direct. GJW Direct had marine underwriting knowledge, while Ripe had Juice, our technology platform. Combining the two has helped us improve the proposition for policyholders and grow in a market where specialist knowledge really matters.

This is happening more widely across the industry, too. Insurers and MGAs are using technology to speed up processes such as risk assessment, quoting and product development, while keeping specialist underwriters at the heart of more complex decisions.

AI is the enabler, not the substitute

MGAs have always differentiated themselves through deep underwriting expertise, strong market knowledge and a nuanced understanding of niche risk. Today, advances in AI, data analytics and cloud-based platforms are giving businesses a solid foundation on which to build.

Rather than replacing underwriting judgement, AI is amplifying it, allowing specialist MGAs and underwriting businesses to identify risks more accurately, price with greater precision and respond to emerging market opportunities far more quickly than previously possible.

However, AI alone is not a competitive advantage. As underwriting becomes increasingly technology-enabled, the differentiator is no longer simply who has access to AI, but who combines it most effectively with deep sector knowledge, high-quality data and strong strategic leadership.

While technology providers can accelerate innovation, they cannot replace the market knowledge, underwriting discipline and customer understanding that specialist MGAs bring. The insurers that succeed will be those that view AI as an enabler of better underwriting decisions, rather than a substitute for underwriting knowledge.

The MGA advantage

Insurers should view MGAs as strategic partners central to the future of underwriting – not competitors. Rather than investing years in building specialist capabilities in-house, they can work with MGAs that already have the capabilities, data and market insight needed to underwrite complex or underserved risks. While incumbent insurers can be constrained by legacy systems, governance structures and competing priorities, specialist MGAs are often able to respond more quickly to risks, evolving customer needs and new market opportunities.

We’ve seen this dynamic play out in our own business. Insure4Sport, our sports and fitness proposition, recorded its strongest month on record in January 2026, with new business up 25% year-on-year. This was driven not by large gym chains but by identifying a fast-growing pool of sole traders, microbusinesses and studio operators.

Launching a successful specialist MGA proposition is no longer just about finding an underwriting partner. It requires close collaboration between underwriting, pricing, digital and customer experience teams to simplify the customer journey, refine risk selection and continuously improve products using real-world performance data. Technology makes this possible, but it is the combination of technical insight and execution that creates sustainable competitive advantage.

What’s next?

The future of underwriting rests on combining human judgement with technology. AI is broadening access to underwriting capabilities, but it is market insight, high-quality data and the right strategic relationships that will determine who is set apart in the next phase of the market.

As carriers look beyond price-led growth, MGAs are fast becoming vital partners in innovation and sustainable growth. The future of underwriting belongs to carriers and MGAs that combine their respective strengths, bringing together the scale of established carriers with the agility, specialist expertise and innovation of MGAs.