I've placed candidates into carriers, brokers, and MGAs, and MGA hires stand apart for one reason: the job title only tells half the story. Two people with the same title, one at a carrier and one at an MGA, can be doing genuinely different jobs.
Get the distinction right, find someone who thrives in the differences, and you've got someone who does their best work precisely because of everything a bigger organisation with slower processes would have stopped them doing.
Here's what I've learned about what an MGA actually is, who tends to thrive in one, and how you can position yourself for the move.
What is a Managing General Agent (MGA)?
A Managing General Agent underwrites on behalf of an insurer, under a delegated authority agreement. Rather than simply arranging cover like a broker does, an MGA designs products, prices risk, issues policies, and often handles claims too, using capacity and licence provided by the insurer it partners with.
This delegated authority model has grown steadily across the UK market: MGAA members now collectively write around £18bn of gross written premium, up from £1.2bn when the association launched in 2011. At Lloyd's, delegated authority business now accounts for just under 40% of all business written, a share forecast to keep growing. MGAs earn commission or an agreed fee from their capacity provider, usually tied to the premium they write and the quality of the book they produce.
What does a Managing General Agent do? Roles that exist at MGAs
An MGA runs a full underwriting operation on a leaner structure than a traditional carrier, and that reshapes what every role inside it actually involves.
Underwriters sit at the centre of it, assessing risk and pricing policies within their granted authority.
Claims specialists manage the process start to finish, typically with more direct client contact than they'd get at a large insurer.
Actuarial and pricing professionals build the models keeping the book profitable, work that's more hands-on when the team is smaller.
Compliance and Delegated Authority Specialists keep the MGA within the terms of its agreement, a role that's grown in weight as regulatory scrutiny of the sector has increased.
Business Development professionals manage relationships with brokers and capacity providers, acting as the commercial engine of the business.
Same job titles as a carrier. What changes is how much of the wider business each person is expected to understand and actually influence.
The traits that make someone MGA-suited
MGAs favour a particular kind of professional: commercially minded, comfortable with ownership, unbothered by a leaner structure.
I placed a Claims Handler a few years back who moved from a large carrier into a mid-sized MGA. She told me the adjustment that actually rattled her wasn't the workload, it was the accountability. At the carrier, decisions passed through layer after layer before anything changed. At the MGA, she was making calls that shaped the book directly, sometimes the same day a problem surfaced.
She thrived on it. Not everyone would.
That's the pattern I look for now. MGA-suited candidates think commercially about the whole business, not just their function. They're willing to wear multiple hats when the team's small. They're comfortable making decisions without waiting for sign-off. And they can work within a faster, leaner structure without needing constant reassurance.
MGA vs carrier: how the day-to-day actually differs
The job title might match. The working reality almost never does.
Autonomy and decision-making. At a carrier, decisions typically move through committees and sign-off chains. At an MGA, individuals hold direct authority within their delegated remit, so choices get made faster and closer to the person doing the work.
Speed and agility. Smaller teams and fewer layers mean MGAs can launch products, adjust pricing, or respond to market shifts far quicker than a large carrier can.
Exposure to the full value chain. Carrier roles are often highly specialised. MGA roles pull people into underwriting, claims, compliance, and commercial strategy all at once, simply because there aren't enough people to keep those functions neatly separate.
Relationship with capacity providers. MGAs answer to the insurers who grant them authority, which means regular reporting, performance reviews, and genuine scrutiny of the book. A carrier professional rarely manages a relationship like that as part of their own role.
Candidates sometimes ask me if this just makes an MGA a smaller carrier. It doesn't. A carrier holds its own capital and capacity. An MGA operates on delegated authority from someone else's. That distinction shapes everything, from risk appetite to how quickly decisions get made.
Worth untangling from a broker here too, since I get this question often. A broker represents the client and arranges cover on their behalf, without underwriting authority of their own. An MGA sits on the other side of that relationship entirely, holding underwriting authority delegated by an insurer. Put simply: an MGA professional makes the risk decision, a broker professional negotiates around it.
How to develop yourself for MGA work
Preparation for an MGA move should start well before you apply.
Build commercial acumen by understanding how your business actually makes money, not just how your own function operates. Chase cross-functional exposure wherever you can get it, even inside a carrier role, by asking to sit in on claims discussions if you're in underwriting, or pricing conversations if you're in claims.
Sharpen your relationship-management skills, because MGA roles put you in regular contact with capacity providers and brokers who expect clear, confident communication, not just technical competence. And stay close to delegated authority regulation.
The FCA's Regulatory Priorities: Insurance report has expanded its oversight review to cover delegated authority models and remuneration arrangements, with findings due in early 2027, making compliance literacy a genuine differentiator for MGA candidates.
None of this means switching jobs tomorrow. It means paying attention to more of the business than your current role technically requires.
Signs an MGA move might be right for you
A few signals show up consistently in candidates who make a successful move:
You want more ownership over your decisions, not just your tasks
You enjoy variety and get restless doing one narrow function for too long
Carrier bureaucracy frustrates you rather than reassures you
You're comfortable with a leaner team, where fewer people means more direct impact
The demand is genuinely there. The MGAA now represents more than 249 MGA members, and MGAs are consistently described as one of the fastest-growing sectors of UK insurance, which means the market rewards candidates who can demonstrate the traits above, not just claim them at interview.
How Select Recruitment can help you find the right MGA role
Moving into an MGA role is as much about fit as it is about experience, and that's genuinely harder to judge from a CV than most people assume.
Working with a recruiter who understands the difference between carrier and MGA work changes the outcome. We match you against roles across the insurance sector where your specific traits, not just your job title, are the deciding factor. You'll also work with a dedicated Consultant throughout, so you've got continuity from that first conversation right through to offer.
Ready to make the move? Upload your CV and we'll take it from there.
Final thoughts
MGAs need professionals who think commercially, act with ownership, and thrive with fewer layers between decision and outcome. If that sounds like you, the opportunities are genuinely there right now.
Got questions? Get in touch with us to find out more about working in an MGA, and if it’s the right move for your career.