Insurance · MGA and delegated-authority platforms
The MGA said yes. Its carrier partner said wait.
You sell policy administration, rating, bordereaux or data platforms to MGAs, coverholders and programme administrators. MGAs buy fast, but the carrier, reinsurer or syndicate behind their capacity can stop your deal in legal review. You rarely meet that capacity provider before it does.
- Sales cycle
- 1–9 months Illustrative
- US MGAs in insurer filings
- More than 850
- Approved Lloyd’s coverholders, end of 2025
- 3,015
Updated 5 October 2026 · Based on Panelhop research, October 2026
At an MGA writing on fronted or Lloyd’s capacityA small owner group plus the capacity provider
The short answer
How do MGA platform vendors sell to insurance MGAs and coverholders?
MGA and delegated-authority platform vendors sell policy administration, rating and bordereaux tools to insurance MGAs, Lloyd’s coverholders and programme administrators. MGAs decide quickly, but the fronting carrier, reinsurer or Lloyd’s managing agent behind their capacity must accept the system. Vendors win by mapping that capacity provider early and timing outreach to MGA launches and funding rounds.
MGA and delegated-authority platforms · How a deal really moves
MGA deals move fast until the carrier looks. The capacity provider you never met also holds go-live. The same MGA deal, capacity provider mapped. Controls first in the brief, and a capacity seat on every deal.
One MGA, a small owner group, its capacity provider and an estimated 1–9 months per deal.
What opens a deal
- New MGA or programme launch: Contract
- MGA funding round: Funding
- Capacity provider changes: Contract
- Syndicate business plan, Sept: Budget · UK
- MGA acquired or merged: Consolidation
Signal Desk · weekly: In-market accounts, scored and mapped
Your buyer and who decides
An MGA or coverholder
Backed by a carrier, reinsurer or syndicate
More than 850 US MGAs · 3,015 coverholders
Panel Check · coverage baselined
- Founder or CEO, can Veto: A platform that delays a launch or a capacity renewal.
- Head of underwriting, can Veto: Writing outside the MGA’s authority because the system let it.
- Operations, bordereaux, can Veto: A conversion that breaks reporting to the capacity provider.
- Capacity provider, can Veto: An MGA writing its paper on a system nobody reviewed.
- Finance, can Veto: Implementation costs that land before the premium does.
- PE owner, can Veto: Duplicate systems and licences after each acquisition.
How the deal moves
Targeting
- Where it stalls
- Start-up and scaled MGAs share one funnel
- With Panelhop: Panel Check
- MGAs tiered by capacity type and premium size, from your won-lost data
First meeting
- Where it stalls
- The demo sells AI, not underwriting controls
- With Panelhop: Signal Desk
- Weekly MGA briefs that lead with controls and name the capacity provider
Fit and pricing
Capacity review
- Where it stalls
- ‘Our carrier partner needs to review it’
- With Panelhop: Leak Fix
- A capacity-provider seat on every MGA deal, with a task if missing
Security and contract
Go-live
- Where it stalls
- Signed, but no invoice until capacity lands
- With Panelhop: Leak Fix
- First invoice forecast from each MGA’s capacity start date
Growth and re-platforming
Panel Ops · monthly: Scores and plays tuned against the baseline
Illustrative Source: Stages, seats, triggers and stalls from Panelhop research, October 2026; Carrier Management; Lloyd’s; the services as described on the Services page. Note: Durations, panel sizes and cycle lengths are Panelhop estimates from our research, not measurements.
At a glance
| Sales cycle | 1–9 months Illustrative |
|---|---|
| US MGAs in insurer filings | More than 850 |
| Approved Lloyd’s coverholders, end of 2025 | 3,015 |
| Motion | Owner-led decision, then the capacity provider’s review |
Source: Panelhop research, October 2026; Carrier Management; Lloyd’s. Note: Values marked Illustrative are Panelhop estimates from our research, not measurements.
MGA deals leak at the capacity provider.
Why do MGA platform deals stall?
MGA platform deals stall because the vendor sells to the MGA and never maps the capacity provider behind it. Start-up MGAs and large MGAs also share one list and one stage model.
Where the pipeline leaks: 4 points across 7 stages.
Start-up and large MGA deals blur into one forecast
- What you see
- Win rates and cycle times swing by rep, and fast start-up deals hide slow, RFP-led ones.
- Why it happens
- Accounts are not tiered by segment, capacity type or premium size.
Stage Targeting
A strong demo, then a long silence
- What you see
- A strong demo is followed by a long silence while the MGA’s carrier partner looks at the system.
- Why it happens
- Messaging sells AI and workflow features instead of the underwriting discipline and audit trail a capacity provider checks.
Stage First meeting
You never meet the capacity provider
- What you see
- Questions on bordereaux formats and audit trails arrive late, and deals die in legal review.
- Why it happens
- The vendor never records which fronting carrier, reinsurer or syndicate backs each MGA.
Stage Capacity review
Signed deals wait months for a first invoice
- What you see
- Signed MGA deals wait months before the first invoice.
- Why it happens
- Go-live is tied to a capacity agreement the vendor does not track.
Stage Go-live
Launches, funding and capacity changes open MGA deals.
What triggers an MGA to buy a new platform?
MGA launches, funding rounds, capacity changes and acquisitions open platform decisions at MGAs. Most of these events show up in trade press, funding reports or capacity announcements.
The 5 events that open or close the window for a deal.
Contract
New MGA or programme launch
- What happens
- A new MGA or a new programme needs policy administration, rating and bordereaux before it can bind its first risk.
- Where to spot it
- Trade-press launch news, MGA association news and fronting carriers’ programme announcements.
- Window
- Before the launch date, often only weeks away when the MGA starts looking.
Funding
MGA funding round
- What happens
- A newly funded MGA buys policy, rating, bordereaux and data tools to launch or expand programmes.
- Where to spot it
- Global insurtech funding reports, all segments included, which counted $2.44bn across 107 deals in Q2 2026.
- Window
- Typically 0–6 months after the round closes (illustrative estimate).
Contract
Capacity change or new fronting partner
- What happens
- An MGA moves to a new fronting carrier, reinsurer or syndicate, or adds capacity, and must meet the new provider’s data and bordereaux standards.
- Where to spot it
- Trade-press capacity announcements and fronting carriers’ MGA partnership news.
- Window
- Ahead of the start date of the new capacity agreement.
Budget cycle
Lloyd’s syndicate business plans
- What happens
- Lloyd’s has dropped its market-wide digital deadline, so each managing agent now chooses and times its own delegated-authority tools.
- Where to spot it
- Lloyd’s and IUA announcements and the Lloyd’s business timetable.
- Window
- Each September’s syndicate business plan sets the timing; deals pitched on the old market-wide deadline need re-qualifying.
Consolidation
Acquisition or office consolidation
- What happens
- A large or PE-backed MGA consolidates acquired offices onto one platform and runs a formal RFP.
- Where to spot it
- Trade-press deal coverage and MGA job ads for platform migration roles.
- Window
- After the deal closes, when the owner standardises systems.
The MGA decides fast; its capacity provider can veto.
Who decides on a new platform at an MGA?
At an MGA, the founders or CEO decide on a new platform with the heads of underwriting and operations. The fronting carrier, reinsurer or Lloyd’s managing agent behind the MGA’s capacity must accept the system and its bordereaux. Private equity owners often push for one platform across the MGAs they buy.
At an MGA writing on fronted or Lloyd’s capacity, 7 seats can stop the deal.
At an MGA writing on fronted or Lloyd’s capacity: A small owner group plus the capacity provider
Founder or CEO
Can Veto
CEO · Founder · Managing Director
- Cares about
- Launching programmes on time and keeping the capacity relationship healthy.
- Worries about
- A platform that delays a programme launch or a capacity renewal.
Head of underwriting
Can Veto
Chief Underwriting Officer · Programme Manager
- Cares about
- Rating, referrals and authority limits that match the binding authority agreement.
- Worries about
- Writing outside the MGA’s authority because the system allowed it.
Operations and bordereaux
Can Veto
COO · Head of Operations · Bordereaux Manager
- Cares about
- Bordereaux that go out on time without manual rework.
- Worries about
- A data conversion that loses policies or breaks reporting to the capacity provider.
Capacity provider
Can Veto
Fronting carrier · Reinsurer · Lloyd’s managing agent
- Cares about
- Clean, standard-format bordereaux and an audit trail on every bound risk.
- Worries about
- An MGA writing its paper on a system nobody at the capacity provider reviewed.
Finance
Can Veto
CFO · Finance Director
- Cares about
- Platform fees that scale with premium without outgrowing the book.
- Worries about
- Implementation costs that land before the programme’s premium does.
Technology and data
Can Veto
CTO · Head of Data · Systems Lead
- Cares about
- Standard data formats and APIs to brokers, capacity providers and data suppliers.
- Worries about
- Programme data locked into one platform’s data model.
Private equity owner
Can Veto
Operating Partner · Portfolio Company Board
- Cares about
- One platform across acquired MGAs and programmes.
- Worries about
- Duplicate systems and licences after each acquisition.
You sell the system an MGA underwrites on.
What do MGA platform vendors sell, and to whom?
MGA platform vendors sell the systems a delegated-authority underwriter needs to quote, bind, report and settle: policy administration, rating, bordereaux and data. The buyers range from start-up MGAs launching a first programme to large MGAs consolidating offices, plus the managing agents and carriers that oversee them. In our research, MGA platforms are usually priced by premium volume, policy, user or module, and implementation is often billed separately.
What vendors of this type sell
- Policy administration and rating for MGA programmes
- Bordereaux production and delegated-authority reporting
- Underwriting workbenches and submission clearance
- Billing, claims and accounting for MGAs
- Data feeds to capacity providers in standard formats
Which carriers, MGAs and brokers buy it
- US MGAs, MGUs and programme administrators
- Lloyd’s coverholders and UK MGAs
- Start-up MGAs launching a first programme
- Large MGAs consolidating office systems
- Lloyd’s managing agents and carriers that oversee delegated authority
The capacity provider sets the pace of MGA deals.
How long does it take to sell a platform to an MGA?
Selling a platform to an MGA takes 1–9 months, an illustrative range from Panelhop research. Start-ups sit at the fast end, while large MGAs running formal RFPs sit at the slow end. Much of the delay comes from the capacity provider’s review of the system and its bordereaux.
Stage by stage: what you do, what the insurer does, and what changes at the 4 stages where deals stall.
| Stage | What you do | What the insurer does | Today | With Panelhop |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Targeting | Works start-up MGAs and large MGAs from one list and one stage model. | A new programme, a funding round or a capacity change prompts a platform search. | Start-up and scaled MGAs share one list and one stage model. Stalls: Start-up and scaled MGAs share one funnel. A start-up MGA buying to launch and a large MGA re-platforming its offices differ in cycle, panel and price, so one stage model forecasts neither. | MGA segments and tiers by premium size and capacity type, drafted from your own closed-won and closed-lost data. Panel Check GTM audit · 2–3 weeks |
| First meeting | Demos AI and workflow features to the founder. | The founder and head of underwriting compare platforms that can launch the programme quickly. | The first demo opens with AI and workflow features. Stalls: Features before underwriting controls. MGA deals die in legal review when the vendor pitches AI features instead of the underwriting discipline a capacity provider checks. | Weekly briefs on launching and newly funded MGAs that name the capacity provider and lead with underwriting controls; your rep owns the first touch. Signal Desk In-market accounts, weekly |
| Fit and pricing | Scopes products, rating and bordereaux, and prices by premium tier or module. | Checks rating, authority limits and bordereaux output against the binding authority agreement. | Fit is argued deal by deal. | A qualification model of account fit plus engagement, capacity type and premium size included. Leak Fix We build the fixes |
| Capacity review | Rarely meets the capacity provider, and answers its questions through the MGA. | The fronting carrier, reinsurer or managing agent reviews the system, its data formats and its audit trail. | The capacity provider is a name in the MGA’s emails. Stalls: The capacity provider was never met. A keen MGA champion is followed by “our carrier partner needs to review it”, and the deal waits on a review the vendor cannot see. | A capacity-provider seat on every MGA deal, with a task when it is missing. Leak Fix We build the fixes |
| Security and contract | Answers security questions from the MGA and from its capacity provider. | Legal agrees terms, and the capacity provider’s due diligence on the MGA covers the platform. | Bordereaux and audit questions start after terms are agreed. | Stage exit criteria that record the capacity provider’s review before the contract stage. Leak Fix We build the fixes |
| Go-live | Configures products and converts data against a launch date. | Ties go-live to the programme launch or the start of the capacity agreement. | Go-live waits on a capacity date nobody tracks. Stalls: Go-live hangs on capacity. MGA go-live dates are tied to capacity agreements, so a delayed capacity deal moves the vendor’s first invoice too. | The capacity agreement start date on every MGA deal, with go-live and the first invoice forecast from it. Leak Fix We build the fixes |
| Growth and re-platforming | Grows with the MGA’s premium until the MGA outgrows the platform. | Adds programmes and lines, and re-platforms when growth or an acquisition outgrows the system. | Growth past the platform surfaces at renewal. | Health scores, renewal tasks and expansion triggers on every live MGA account. Leak Fix We build the fixes |
The capacity provider is mapped before the demo.
How does Panelhop help MGA platform vendors sell to MGAs?
Panelhop helps MGA platform vendors tier MGAs by premium size and capacity type, watch launches and funding rounds at named accounts each week and add the capacity provider to every MGA’s buying group. A fixed-scope Panel Check (GTM audit · 2–3 weeks) baselines cycle and win rate by segment first.
What we baseline and report
- Win rate and cycle length by MGA segment, against the baseline
- Share of open MGA deals with the capacity provider mapped
- Days from verbal yes to signed contract, capacity review included, against the baseline
Other vendor types in insurance.
What other vendors sell to carriers, MGAs and brokers?
The same carriers, MGAs and brokers buy from these vendor types too, through different panels and pipelines.
- Vendor type
Core policy, claims and billing platforms
Policy administration, claims and billing systems sold to carriers and Lloyd’s managing agents through formal, adviser-led selections.
Read the pipeline - Vendor type
Underwriting, submission intake and claims AI
AI for submission intake, underwriting, claims triage and fraud, sold to carriers, MGAs, brokers and Lloyd’s syndicates.
Read the pipeline - Vendor type
Distribution and producer network platforms
Producer management, comparative rating, carrier connectivity and agency workflow platforms sold to carriers, MGAs, brokers and agencies.
Read the pipeline
The words your buyers use, defined.
What do terms like “Delegated authority” and “Fronting carrier” mean?
Plain definitions of the terms that come up when you sell MGA and delegated-authority platforms to carriers, MGAs and brokers.
- Delegated authority
- Authority a carrier or Lloyd’s managing agent gives an MGA or coverholder to quote, bind and sometimes settle claims on its behalf, within agreed limits.
- Fronting carrier
- A licensed insurer that issues policies for an MGA’s programme and passes most of the risk to reinsurers. Fronting carriers set data and bordereaux standards for the MGAs they support.
- Coverholder
- A business that a Lloyd’s managing agent authorises to accept insurance risks directly on behalf of its syndicates. Many UK MGAs are also Lloyd’s coverholders.
- Binding authority agreement
- The contract that sets what an MGA or coverholder may write for its capacity provider: classes, limits, territories and reporting duties.
- Programme administrator
- An MGA, usually in the US market, that runs a specialised insurance programme for one class or niche on a carrier’s paper.
- Bordereaux
- The regular reports of policies, premiums and claims that an MGA or coverholder sends its capacity provider. Fronting carriers and managing agents set the format and judge MGA platforms on it.
Answers before your next insurer deal.
What do vendors of MGA and delegated-authority platforms ask about selling to carriers, MGAs and brokers?
How do insurance MGAs buy technology, and who approves it?
An insurance MGA buys technology through a small owner group: the founders or CEO with the heads of underwriting and operations. The fronting carrier, reinsurer or Lloyd’s managing agent behind the MGA’s capacity also has to accept the system and its bordereaux before the MGA can use it. MGA platform vendors should map that capacity provider in the first weeks of the deal.
What do fronting carriers require from an MGA’s systems?
Fronting carriers expect an insurance MGA’s systems to produce clean bordereaux in standard data formats before they grant or expand capacity. Every bound risk needs an audit trail. Fronting carriers also check authority limits and the MGA’s controls during due diligence. MGA platform vendors that show these controls in the first demo reach the capacity review with fewer surprises.
How are software platforms for insurance MGAs priced?
Software platforms for insurance MGAs are usually priced on premium volume, per policy or transaction, or as a licence with premium add-ons. Implementation is often billed separately, according to Panelhop research, and MGA deals are smaller than carrier deals. Fees that grow with premium suit a start-up MGA’s first programme. The MGA’s finance lead still checks that fees cannot outgrow the book or land before the programme’s premium does.
How do you find newly launched MGAs to sell to?
Newly launched insurance MGAs show up in trade-press launch news, fronting carriers’ programme announcements and quarterly insurtech funding reports. In the US, more than 850 MGAs were identified from insurers’ statutory filings for 2024 (Carrier Management, 2025). MGA platform vendors should track launches and funding rounds against a named list and reach each MGA before it binds its first risk.
How do you sell delegated-authority software to Lloyd’s coverholders?
Sell delegated-authority insurance software to Lloyd’s coverholders by winning the coverholder and its managing agent together. Lloyd’s had 3,015 approved coverholders at 31 December 2025, and each managing agent oversees its coverholders’ bordereaux and controls. Lloyd’s has dropped its market-wide digital deadline, so managing agents now set their own technology timing. MGA platform vendors should map both seats on every deal.
Where the numbers come from.
Sources
Sourced figures link to their source below. Figures marked Illustrative, and figures given as estimates, are inferred from Panelhop research. Vendors appear only as types, never by name.
- Lloyd’s, How the market works (2026)
- Carrier Management, MGAs by the Numbers: Fronting Biz, Non-Affiliated MGAs Drive Growth (2025)
- Gallagher Re, Gallagher and CB Insights, Global InsurTech Report Q2 2026: Artificial Intelligence, Risks and Opportunities (2026)
- Lloyd’s Annual Report 2025 (2026)
- Panelhop research, October 2026: our analysis of the vendors, buying panels, pipelines and triggers for MGA and delegated-authority platforms in insurance, from public sources. Vendor names are not published.
Find where your pipeline to carriers, MGAs and brokers leaks.
