Managing General Agents (MGAs) continue to sit at the forefront of innovation in the insurance market. Their ability to combine underwriting expertise, niche specialism and modern distribution has reshaped large parts of the sector.
As MGAs expand their influence, the importance of robust analytical capability – particularly actuarial insight – has grown significantly. Success is increasingly underpinned by the depth and quality of the analytics that support underwriting discipline, portfolio oversight and performance management.
MGAs and Actuaries in 2026: The State of the Market, a first-of-its-kind collaboration between Broadstone and Instech, provides a timely and data-rich view of how MGAs at all stages of maturity are accessing, deploying and expanding actuarial expertise. From our experience working with insurers, MGAs and capacity providers across the general insurance market, the findings reflect a sector that is maturing and professionalising its analytical foundations.
Actuarial insight is no longer peripheral or an add-on. For a growing proportion of MGAs, it is a core enabler of underwriting discipline, capacity credibility and long-term franchise value. In this article, we explore how actuarial capability is being embedded within the MGA model, and why it is increasingly shaping independence, control and resilience.
Download MGAs and Actuaries in 2026: The State of the Market.
Actuarial capability has become mainstream – and central to the MGA value proposition
One of the most striking findings from the survey is how widely actuarial expertise is now used across the MGA market. Over 90% of respondents report using actuarial or analytical capability in some form, despite the fact that most MGAs are not subject to formal prudential requirements.
Actuarial input is now firmly embedded in core commercial activity. In particular, MGAs are using actuarial insight to support:
- Pricing adequacy
- Underwriting performance reviews
- Claims development analysis
Each of these activities is used by around 65–75% of respondents.
Across the market, actuarial capability is now being applied to a wide range of core commercial disciplines within MGAs. Rather than being used only for periodic validation or reporting, actuarial insight is increasingly embedded into day-to-day underwriting decisions, portfolio oversight and performance management. For many MGAs, it plays a direct role in demonstrating discipline to capacity providers, strengthening feedback mechanisms and supporting sustainable growth.
Read more: Unlocking the Power of Management Information for MGAs
As MGAs scale, analytical control becomes a commercial issue, not a technical one
The survey highlights a consistent pattern in how actuarial capability evolves as MGAs grow. Appetite for analytics increases with scale, but the way that capability is delivered changes materially over time.
At an early stage, MGAs tend to rely heavily on capacity providers for pricing, analytics and performance monitoring. This incubator-style model can be highly effective in accelerating market entry and managing initial costs. However, if relied upon for too long, it can create structural dependency and limit strategic control over underwriting insight.
As MGAs move into the small-to-mid-sized category, many transition towards hybrid models. This often coincides with a first internal actuarial hire, supported by external advisers or continued carrier input. At this stage, actuarial support typically becomes more continuous and embedded, supporting:
- Quarterly loss ratio and performance monitoring
- Reinsurance renewal discussions
- Portfolio management and capacity engagement
Large and enterprise-scale MGAs demonstrate near-universal in-house actuarial capability and often sophisticated data science teams. For these organisations, analytics becomes a proprietary competitive advantage and a core internal asset.
Taken together, this progression – from external reliance, through hybrid delivery, to in-house ownership – reflects what we see across Broadstone’s work with MGAs. As portfolios grow in size and complexity, demand shifts towards real-time, embedded actuarial engagement, with external teams increasingly operating as strategic extensions of the MGA’s operating model rather than occasional project partners.
Poor data quality limits what can be achieved through modelling and analytics, and adds recurring cost
The survey highlights data as a persistent challenge for the industry. This was a recurring theme, with some responses indicating that data preparation could consume up to 40–50% of actuarial project effort.
For many MGAs, data is spread across multiple systems, including:
- Underwriting platforms
- Brokers and delegated authorities
- TPAs and claims systems
Often, this data lacks a suitable structure for analytical purposes. As a result, valuable actuarial time is diverted away from generating insight and towards basic data preparation. This resonates strongly with our own work supporting MGAs across MI transformation and actuarial review assignments.
Modern MGAs cannot compete on underwriting insight without fixing data fundamentals. Persistent data stores, consistent claims segmentation, underwriting‑year tracking and API‑driven access are becoming non‑negotiable. Without this foundation, scaling actuarial sophistication is prohibitively costly and slow.
Actuarial capability builds intellectual property and franchise value
The survey evidences what Broadstone has long advocated: MGAs that invest in actuarial capability build proprietary IP that strengthens their negotiating position with carriers and reinsurers. Independent, analytically-driven views of risk help MGAs:
- Demonstrate pricing adequacy and underwriting discipline
- Reduce reliance on single-carrier insights
- Support stronger negotiation on commissions and capacity terms
- Justify expansion into new segments and geographies
- Strengthen investor confidence in the resilience of the business model
Our broader market experience shows that MGAs who build automated, well‑governed actuarial and MI environments gain a lasting competitive advantage – an advantage that becomes increasingly difficult for competitors to replicate.
Growing demand for hybrid and flexible delivery models
The economics of actuarial capability are clear: most MGAs cannot justify the cost of a full in‑house actuarial team until they reach meaningful scale. Hybrid models – where a senior internal actuary partners with an external team – allow MGAs to achieve:
- Continuity of insight and portfolio familiarity
- Surge capacity at quarter‑ and year‑end peaks
- Access to specialised skills (e.g., catastrophe modelling, regulatory reporting, machine learning)
- Production efficiency through established templates and models
- Balanced cost without unused internal resource
The survey confirms that hybrid models are now the most prevalent structure for mid‑sized MGAs, demonstrating their practicality and value.
A sector ready to move from data to decisions
Across our work – from actuarial function development to MI automation and pricing model enhancement – we see MGAs striving to move from operational reporting toward true decision‑support analytics. This aligns closely with the survey’s evidence: as MGAs adopt data science tools and integrate underwriting, actuarial and portfolio management workflows, they gain a far clearer view of the drivers of value.
This evolution is no longer optional. With carriers demanding greater visibility on risk selection, performance quality and governance standards, MGAs with stronger analytical foundations will secure better capacity, more stable partnerships and increased strategic freedom.
Broadstone’s perspective
The findings of MGAs and Actuaries in 2026 affirm that actuarial capability is now an intrinsic part of the MGA success formula – not a regulatory add‑on, but a strategic enabler of growth, resilience and credibility. As MGAs continue to scale, the winners will be those who invest in:
- High‑quality data foundations
- Integrated actuarial and analytical processes
- Clear, repeatable pricing and reserving frameworks
- MI environments that support rapid, evidence‑based decisions
- Hybrid delivery models that provide flexibility and expertise at the right moments
Broadstone is proud to partner with MGAs at every stage of this journey – from first actuarial hire to building advanced modelling environments that become core intellectual property. As the sector continues to expand, our role is to help MGAs turn data into insight, insight into action, and action into competitive advantage.
Download MGAs and Actuaries in 2026: The State of the Market.
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