MGAA CEO Keating on the importance of its regional broker event

What is the MGAA broker exchange and what is its prime objective?

We have close to 260 MGA members, and over 94% of those deal with the broker channel. 

What we like to do as part of our strategy is to put on a great programme of networking and events. This includes the MGAA Broker Exchange which is an opportunity for MGA members and brokers to meet and talk. 

The way I would best describe it through a broker lens is that you have an opportunity to engage and network with the MGAs you’re already familiar with, which is always great opportunity. 

But also to talk with MGAs who you don’t know and who may be able to provide solutions you cannot find elsewhere, which obviously is fantastic for their end customers.

The beauty of it and all these events is that everyone is in one room.

Through an MGA lens, it’s just the reverse - a great chance to soeak to brokers.

You have held Broker Exchanges in the past, this is the first time you have done two in one year, why is this?

An association we believe it is important to ensure that we do something regional.

We had done Bristol, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham, and it just happened that we’d never done a broker exchange in London. We put one on in London this year and we had over 600 brokers attend, so the reception actually blew us away.

As a result of that we felt that we needed to retain the London event within the schedule, but we’re also very keen to ensure that both MGA members and regional brokers have the opportunity to network and engage. 

Why did you decide on Leeds this year?

It is a great insurance centre, both from a broker and MGA perspective. It’s a good location for Manchester and Birmingham brokers to get too, and what we like to do is rotate those city hubs. 

When I look to 2026 we may go to Manchester, Birmingham or somewhere in the southwest. But what we will do is get feedback from these events, as we always do from our members, and ask where they would like us to hold our next Broker Exchange.

Talking to brokers/members what business classes/lines offer MGAs particular opportunities presently?

Our MGA members underwrite in excess of £18bn of premium income, and that includes over 300 product lines.

[At the Leeds Broker Exchange on the 15th October] you’re going to have a very unique wide range of MGAs with different specialisms and product lines all wanting to talk to brokers about providing solutions for their customers. The beauty of our Exchange is there’s not going to be a bias towards any product lines.

There is talk about the softening market, how are MGAs responding and navigating the change in rating environment?

MGAs have always been absolutely fantastic in terms of their engagement with their brokers. I’m a firm believer that they have a far more forensic knowledge of their distribution and their broker partners than the company market does.

As with all market conditions MGAs will be engaging with their broker distribution around renewals. The bonus is that they will have the ability to negotiate around the softening rates and to do that at speed and with innovation that is probably unmatched elsewhere. 

Part of the growth of the MGA sector - and a reason for its buoyancy - is that brokers know that they are able to speak to decision makers and get responses very quickly. MGAs are well placed to deliver and navigate with their broker partners the right solutions for the end customers.

I’m hopeful that the softening market is shallow, and that some sanity does remain in terms of pricing, and that the dip doesn’t get too deep because the market will change.

You have been a big proponent of MGAs stepping up on the claims side, do you see evidence that is happening?

I’ve been talking to members and a lot of our peers and insurers. One of the challenges in a weakening rate environment is that first and foremost, claims inflation still remains a factor. 

Claims frequency very rarely changes, but average claims costs are going up. And this is all happening against the backdrop of reducing premiums so it does put pressure across the whole sector in terms of delivering consistent underwriting earnings.

94% of my members actually work with TPAs. Something we’re doing as an association, is ensuring that they have the right toolkit, including offering webinars and networking sessions where carriers, TPAs and MGAs have the opportunity to ensure that relationship, which is absolutely critical in delivering positive customer outcomes, can be maximised.

We have a claims conference in November, which is a great opportunity for the claims community to come together and discuss where areas can be improved. But fundamentally in a soft in market complaints go up, fraud goes up and there’s a greater focus on the indemnity mitigation. It is an area where claims become even more scrutinised and important.

What - if any - reasons do you still hear from regional brokers about why they don’t deal with MGAs, and what can be done to qualm those fears?

For any regional broker who is not working with MGAs, I would encourage them to come to our event and talk with MGAs in terms of what they can provide for their customers.

When I speak to brokers, they now see that MGAs form part of the fabric of their placement strategy, when previously they may have been outliers, or dare I see a many years ago a placement of last resort. But now I think brokers see that they do need to engage with the MGA market in order to deliver what their customers want.

Insurance Age is a sponsor of the Broker Exchange 2025, Regional. What would your final words be to convince brokers who may be wavering on whether to attend the event?

Brokers are an absolutely fantastic community and are always horizon scanning markets which can deliver sustainable benefit to them as a broker, and more importantly their customers.

There’s no excuse for not attending our Leeds Broker Exchange. Register or turn up on the day and engage with a wide range of members. 

There’ll be plenty of coffee, there’ll be a nice bit of breakfast, there’ll be some sandwiches and a glass of wine at the end. Pop in for an hour or pop in for the whole day.

What can the market expect to see from the MGAA in 2026?

We have a three-pillar strategy. We will continue to elevate and improve our programme of events. We will be introducing some lunch-and-learn sessions around particular topics which we know are important to the sector; claims will be one - and navigating a soft market will be another.

With regards our educational programme, we will be adding topics and webinars to that. We’ll be looking at more specialist subjects or master classes on particular topics and product lines, cyber being one.

We’ll continue to engage with the regulatory bodies and our peer associations. As an association we will continue our transition to adopt a more digital type approach. We have a new website we launched this year, which has greatly improved the user journey for our members, but we recognise that that can be improved even further.

Since I’ve been CEO, this is my fifth year, I’ve completed two rounds of comprehensive membership research. That has been of great value to inform me and my executive team of what the priorities members want from the association, and just as importantly where we should invest member funds.

For the first part of 2026 we will be going to all of our members with a comprehensive research project. The results of that will inform what we do both towards the end of 2026 and into 2027.

To sign up to attend the Broker Exchange 2025, Regional, in Leeds on the 15th October at the Queen’s Hotel click here.