The rise of Managing General Agents is one of the most compelling stories in modern insurance. In under five years the US MGA market has nearly doubled in size, attracted tens of billions in private equity capital and fundamentally changed the relationship between underwriting expertise and carrier balance sheets. What was once a niche corner of the distribution world has grown into a $114 billion engine of specialism, innovation and performance. The ten statistics below are drawn from the most authoritative research available in 2025 and 2026, and they make a powerful case for why Managing General Agents are the channel the rest of the industry is watching most closely.
STATISTIC 01
US Managing General Agents wrote $114.1 billion in direct premiums in 2024
Conning’s 12th annual MGA strategic study places total US Managing General Agent direct premiums written at $114.1 billion for 2024, representing 16% year-on-year growth.1,10 Conning describes this as a floor estimate, incorporating $91.8 billion from statutory filings, approximately $8.5 billion from Lloyd’s syndicate binder business and an allowance for smaller MGAs that fall below the NAIC reporting threshold. The wider US P&C market grew at approximately 10% over the same period. Managing General Agents did not just keep pace with the industry. They set the pace.
STATISTIC 02
Four consecutive years of double-digit growth add up to a 90% cumulative premium increase since 2020
AM Best’s June 2025 Market Segment Report confirms that Managing General Agents posted double-digit premium growth for the fourth year running: 15% in 2024, 14.9% in 2023, 19.5% in 2022 and 17% in 2021.2 Aon’s 2025 MGA Market and Outlook calculates the cumulative increase across the full four-year period at approximately 90%.4 Sustaining that kind of momentum over four years is not a coincidence. It reflects the structural advantages Managing General Agents hold over more traditional distribution models: speed to market, underwriting specialism and a far leaner cost base.
STATISTIC 03
Managing General Agents now write 10% of all US P&C premiums, up from 7% just three years ago
Gallagher Re’s May 2025 report places the MGA share of the US P&C market at approximately 10%.3 McKinsey’s 2022 investor analysis had estimated the figure at around 7%.5 Gaining three percentage points of a multi-trillion dollar market in three years is a remarkable achievement for any distribution channel. It reflects a structural migration of business from admitted to E&S markets where Managing General Agents have become the dominant route for specialty and complex risks.
STATISTIC 04
MGA loss ratios swung from 8 points worse than the market in 2022 to 1.9 points better in 2024
The sceptics who once questioned MGA underwriting discipline have a harder argument to make today. Aon’s 2025 MGA Market and Outlook provides the most detailed available comparison of Managing General Agent performance against the broader P&C market.4 During 2017 to 2022, MGA loss-and-LAE ratios averaged over 8 points worse. By 2023 the gap had flipped to 4.4 points better, narrowing to 1.9 points better in 2024. Aon attributes the improvement primarily to favourable catastrophe experience in commercial property. On a ten-year average, MGAs continue to outperform in casualty and motor, demonstrating that the specialism model genuinely produces better underwriting outcomes over time.
STATISTIC 05
Six Managing General Agents crossed the $1 billion premium mark in 2024, double the three that did in 2023
The MGA market is producing genuine scale at an accelerating rate. AM Best’s June 2025 report found that 19 Managing General Agents now produce over $500 million in direct premiums written, up from 12 the prior year, and six passed the $1 billion threshold in 2024 compared with three in 2023.2,9 What makes this particularly striking is that the market is not simply consolidating around a handful of giants. Aon’s analysis shows the ten largest non-affiliated MGAs hold just 17% of total MGA premium, meaning the sector is creating multiple significant businesses simultaneously.4
STATISTIC 06
Approximately 45% of Lloyd’s £55.5 billion in gross written premium flows through delegated underwriting
Lloyd’s reported gross written premium of £55.5 billion in its 2024 full-year results. With approximately 2,950 approved coverholders globally,6 delegated underwriting now accounts for close to half of all premium placed into the market, up from roughly 30% a decade ago. For Managing General Agents seeking access to specialty and wholesale capacity from London, the Lloyd’s coverholder framework remains the most commercially powerful and internationally recognised route available in global insurance.
STATISTIC 07
Private equity backs more than 30% of all US MGA entities and pays up to 16 times EBITDA for the best platforms
When private equity commits capital at this scale and at these multiples, it is a clear signal about the financial quality of the underlying businesses. Deloitte’s 2025 analysis identifies PE ownership in over 30% of all US MGA entities, drawn by EBITDA margins of 20 to 30%, low capital requirements and strong free-cash-flow conversion.7 Platform valuations have risen to 14 to 16 times EBITDA for scaled businesses. McKinsey data shows MGA acquisition deals grew at a 30% CAGR from 2014 to 2021 and even as deal volumes moderated to 39 in 2023, valuations have held firm.5 The investment community has placed its verdict on the Managing General Agent model.
STATISTIC 08
Fronting carriers grew their share of MGA premium from 6% to over 20% between 2020 and 2024, writing $28 billion in one year
One of the most significant structural developments behind the MGA boom has been the rapid growth of the fronting carrier model. Gallagher Re’s composite of 23 fronting carriers shows this channel wrote approximately $28 billion in gross premiums supporting Managing General Agents in 2024, up 26% year-on-year, with their share of total MGA premium tripling from around 6% to over 20% since 2020.3,8 Four fronting companies, Accelerant, Sutton, Transverse and State National, each surpassed $1 billion in premium and collectively held 43% of the fronting market. This infrastructure has been the launchpad for a new generation of specialist Managing General Agents.
STATISTIC 09
198 Managing General Agents launched after 2022 already account for 14% of total MGA market premiums
The MGA model is not just growing in size. It is spawning new businesses at a remarkable rate. AM Best identified 198 Managing General Agents that began writing after 2022 and already account for 14% of total MGA market premiums.2,9 In the UK, MGAA membership reached 249 MGA members in 2025, a 58.5% increase since 2019. US TMPAA membership reached 417 programme administrator members in late 2024. These numbers reflect a market that is genuinely open to new entrants with real underwriting expertise, and where the infrastructure now exists to support them from day one.
STATISTIC 10
Lloyd’s and alternative capital stepped in with $1.1 billion in ceded premium after Munich Re and Swiss Re each cut MGA participation by over 50%
Every healthy market faces capacity tests and the MGA sector is no exception. Gallagher Re’s May 2025 report documents a significant pullback by Munich Re and Swiss Re, each reducing their MGA marketplace participation by more than half in 2024.3 What makes this a positive story is what happened next. Lloyd’s stepped up as the single largest reinsurer for the fronting carrier composite at $1.1 billion in ceded premium, while insurance-linked securities vehicles, captives and collateralised reinsurance structures absorbed the remainder. Managing General Agents have demonstrated that their access to capital is diverse and resilient enough to absorb the departure of even the largest traditional reinsurers.
Managing General Agents have earned their place at the centre of modern insurance distribution. The growth is real, the underwriting performance has improved materially and the capital is committed. The infrastructure is in place to support the next generation of specialist businesses. Whether you are a carrier, a reinsurer, an investor or an insurance professional weighing your next move, the MGA sector is where the most interesting things in insurance are happening right now.
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