CEO Jason Anthony Interview on MGAM
What is MGAM Limited and what are its business goals?
MGAM is a market leading innovative MGU/MGA focusing on the London and Provincial markets. We act as custodians of carrier capacity and provide insurers with access to markets by partnering with unique and/or niche distribution channels via a traditional coverholder binding authority model. We provide a full underwriting management service and manage distribution costs via sophisticated IT systems which provides an improved service to coverholders and delivers better underwriting results to insurers.
As a young firm, what is MGAM doing – particularly in terms of IT development – to set itself apart from the competition?
We have invested significant capital, effort, and time to establish a particularly robust infrastructure which has been described by one insurer as the best Coverholder Management System they have ever seen. Our processes are scalable and handle the entire scope of business, from onboarding of Coverholders to providing detailed and extremely high quality underwriting management data. Our system provides the additional benefit, through rigorous screening, of enabling us to select only the highest quality Coverholder partners.
MGAM has developed a Bordereau Management System which validates and standardises Written and Claims bordereau data including automatic upload to the ELD of ERN data, to ensure quality MI. These systems not only allow us to service traditional coverholder/binder business but also offer services to insurers who require management of their data and back office services.
We have developed an online quote and bind product which we can ‘white label’ for our Coverholders, saving them the typically six-figure sum required to purchase similar systems themselves. This same product provides MGAM with unique distribution to markets which previously we were unable to access insurance product directly.
We also geo-map our liability claims data to compare with that of the publically available industry health and safety statistics in order to bring an additional layer of underwriting scrutiny. This data enables more specific targeting of resources which in turn delivers higher profitability.
From a senior executive’s perspective, what makes MGAs attractive ventures?
We provide assistance to our partners in servicing their businesses while at the same time lowering distribution and carrier expense. MGAM provides actuarial underwriting analysis, underwriting management, claims insight and analysis, and can assist – or handle entirely – compliance and due diligence. Not being proprietorial about data means we can share information with Coverholders and Carriers and work together to deliver profitable growth.
2016 will soon come into a close, how would you assess the MGA activity / landscape in the UK so far this year?
The MGA market continues to thrive. However, in order to truly succeed MGAs need to offer greater value, service, and differentiation than they are currently. When I attend roadshows and capacity exchanges I find it surprising that MGAs sit next to carriers who all offer the same product with no differentiation. The MGA market must offer more than a layer of cost.
Do you think there is an oversaturation of MGAs in the market?
Yes, with respect to those MGAs that are not providing added value to their carriers / clients.
In 2017, what do you think will be the new/prevailing challenges and opportunities for the MGA sector?
The key opportunity for the MGA market is to add value to carriers and clients by disrupting the market and finding untapped distribution channels.
One of the challenges will be to ensure infrastructure is in place for the sector to grow sustainably, at the same time, discovering new distribution channels in an extremely heavily regulated UK market.
We are also seeing considerable interest from insurers to improve their back office process. This presents a significant opportunity for MGAM given our focus on the delivery of first class IT into a market that lags other industries in terms of tech capabilities.
I believe we are on the brink of tectonic change in the industry and predict that in a short timeframe our working environment will be unrecognisable when compared to how we operate today.