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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
Managing general agencies, with their emphasis on specialization, saw continued growth in 2014, according to a study released Wednesday.
MGAs' $33 billion in 2014 premium accounted for 11.7% of total commercial lines premiums of $282 billion, said “Managing General Agents, Superior Growth in Specialty Markets, 2015,” a report by Hartford, Connecticut-based investment managing firm Conning & Co.
The study updates a report issued in April 2014 that found MGAs produced $25.7 billion of direct written premiums, or about 9.7% of commercial premiums, in 2012.
The report states that while the MGA market is not immune to the rate softening now appearing in several lines, factors that mitigate this include a continued shift toward specialization and access to the customer, as well as demand for alternative distribution sources, with insurers and reinsurers growing more accustomed to the MGA distribution channel.
A total of 60% of the top 100 property/casualty insurers reported an MGA relationship in 2014, according to the report.
The report said insurers who are most active in using MGAs tend to be larger global insurers and reinsurers and midsize insurers with a business model focused on the MGA channel.
General and other liability, commercial multiperil, inland and ocean marine, and commercial auto are the commercial coverages most frequently offered by MGAs, according to the report.
Managing general agent Burns & Wilcox Canada Inc., a unit of Kaufman Financial Group, has acquired Toronto-based MGA Avec Insurance Managers Inc.