MGAs boost productivity as profits and growth come under pressure

The MGA market has proven its resilience over the last 12 months, continuing to adapt and evolve despite persistent margin pressures and a shifting trading environment.

This is according to the findings of market intelligence firm Insurance DataLab’s MGA Performance Report 2025, now in its fourth year, which is due to be launched at the Managing General Agents’ Association (MGAA) Conference on 3 July 2025.

This research is based on Insurance DataLab’s proprietary MGA rating system, which analyses a combination of profitability, productivity and growth metrics.

Profitability is measured via a three-year aggregate earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) margin, growth is based on changes in revenue and operating profit, while the productivity metric considers turnover per employee and staff costs as a percentage of turnover. These pillars are combined to generate a performance rating out of 100%.

Insurance DataLab’s 2025 research revealed that while the average MGA rating held firm at 53.4% for the second consecutive year, there have been major shifts under the surface where firms have made efficiency gains that position the sector well for future growth.

Productivity has been the standout story this year, with the average productivity rating rising by 1.5 percentage points to 57.6% – the highest level recorded since this analysis began four years ago.

This improvement was driven by an 8% increase in turnover per employee, which now stands at more than £180,000. Staff costs held steady at 41% of revenue – a level that has remained consistent in each of the last three years.

Meanwhile, profitability continues to face challenges.

The average profitability rating across the MGA market fell for the second year in a row to 49.3%, down 0.6 percentage points, as MGAs grapple with inflationary pressures, capacity constraints and heightened competition. The three-year aggregate ebitda margin now stands at 11.1%, down from 11.4% a year earlier.

Growth has also softened slightly, with the average growth rating for MGAs falling to 55.4% from 55.9% in 2024. But this headline figure mask a more positive picture at the aggregate level, with overall revenues across the report’s MGA cohort growing by 17.1% – up from 10% the previous year – as several firms reported exceptional top line performance.

Collectively, this year’s MGA cohort generated revenues exceeding £1bn, with individual growth rates ranging from -34% to 166% – underlining the divergent fortunes across the market.

Insurance DataLab co-founder Dan King said: “It’s been a mixed year for MGAs, with an encouraging upswing in productivity counterbalanced by margin pressure and slowing growth. The productivity gains suggest a sector that is becoming leaner and more tech enabled – but cost pressures are still very real.

“Increased regulatory scrutiny and the continued challenge of finding appropriate capacity amid changing MGA-insurer relationships are also adding pressure, particularly for those MGAs less able to adapt to these shifting demands.”

Size matters?

As in previous years, Insurance DataLab has analysed MGAs’ performance by business size, categorising MGAs into three different bands according to the revenues disclosed in their 2023/24 accounts. These bands are:

• Small: Revenues of £5m or less.
• Medium: Revenues of between £5m and £15m.
• Large: Revenues in excess of £15m.

Medium-sized MGAs were the only revenue band to report an improvement in overall performance this year, climbing to an average rating of 53.6% – up from 50.8% in 2024. They now sit ahead of both small and large MGAs, after finishing bottom of the ranking last year.

Small MGAs with revenues of less than £5m, by contrast, held steady at 53.2%, slipping just 0.1 percentage point from last year, while large MGAs – those with revenues of more than £15m – saw a more significant decline of two percentage points to 53.3%, their lowest score since 2022.

King believes this suggests that firms in the mid-market may be “hitting a sweet spot” where size and agility come together to deliver stellar results.

“These medium-sized firms are large enough to benefit from scale, but still agile enough to adapt quickly to market changes and pursue growth opportunities,” he explained.

Going for gold

In total, six MGAs have earned an Insurance DataLab gold award this year, with the full list of winners to be revealed in the final report that will be launched at 2025’s MGAA Conference.

This year’s standout performer, topping the table with a rating of 76.6%, is NBS Underwriting. This sees the commercial lines MGA claim its first Insurance DataLab gold award.

This marks a 13 percentage point improvement on last year too, driven by a highly impressive growth rating of 83% – this was influenced by a 90% increase in revenue to more than £9m. This growth came off the back of NBS’ acquisition of The Underwriting Specialist in 2021, as well as the launch of a number of new specialist schemes.

The firm’s operating profit, meanwhile, almost trebled to £4.9m year-on-year, while its three-year ebitda margin of 45.6% earned NBS Underwriting a profitability rating of 80.6%. Its productivity rating was slightly below average at 56.5%, but this is still up nearly nine percentage points on last year’s score.

Second place goes to goods transportation MGA Provego Underwriting, which claims the title of highest ranked small MGA thanks to an overall rating of 69%.

The company delivered a particularly strong profitability score of 87% due to a three-year ebitda margin of 52%. Provego also recorded a growth rating of 57% after increasing its revenue by 20% to reach more than £2.3m. However, its productivity rating dipped slightly to 57.1%.

In third place for 2025 is transactional insurance specialist Ambridge Europe. Its overall rating of 67.8% was driven by a highly impressive productivity rating of 81.4%, with the MGA achieving turnover per employee of nearly £534,000 and staff costs equal to 41% of turnover.

Ambridge Europe also posted a strong profitability rating of 75.7% this year, alongside a three-year ebitda margin of 40.7% – although a lower than average growth rating of 53% held its overall score back.

These results highlight the evolving shape of the MGA landscape, with firms finding success through a variety of strategies – from rapid growth to operational efficiency.

As market pressures persist, those MGAs able to adapt, invest in productivity and maintain underwriting discipline in the face of a softening market are likely to be the ones setting the pace in the year ahead.