UK General tops the MGA rankings

UK General is the UK’s leading MGA, according to Insurance Age, the leading insurance trade paper. In the paper’s annual survey*, UK General’s GWP income places it alongside Towergate in equal first place, outranking some of the sector’s biggest names.

Michael Warren, managing director of UK General said: “This study proves that UK General is a force to be reckoned with in the UK marketplace. We have made no secret of our ambition to be one of the UK’s leading specialist insurers, and our year on year growth in GWP suggests that our strategy is paying off.”

He added: “There is no doubt that MGAs are fashionable again, after a fallow period, but the jury is still out on whether they prove to be a success. It’s one thing to get capacity support, but quite another to generate significant premium in a crowded and competitive market.

Michael said that key to UK General’s success is the team’s ability to find niche opportunities to deliver new revenue streams. “Management teams running the big insurers are currently fully focused on preserving their capital and looking after their investment returns, so they need agile, smart and flexible MGAs to develop new lines of distribution. We believe we do a pretty good job, and the Insurance Age survey backs us up.”

Looking ahead, Michael said: “It’s still an extremely tough market in the UK, and I see little sign of rates hardening in the commercial space for some time to come. Winning in this environment requires MGAs to deliver attractive products, excellent service and fruitful deals with capacity providers which suit both sides.”

In addition to the joint top ranking for UK General Insurance subsidiary services company UKGI was also ranked as the third largest network offering compliance and business support services to independent brokers.

Michael said that compliance would continue to be a key issue for brokers and affinities selling insurance, and that UKGI was well-placed to prosper.

To download the full PDF of The Third Force click here.

*Insurance Age published The Third Force in December 2011 in conjunction with Cornell Consulting.