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Insurance MGAs: Guess what? Your Reason for Selling Will Impact Who Buys You — and Your Valuation

By Vaughn Stoll and Jimmy Curcio

Are you a Managing General Agent (MGA), Managing General Underwriter (MGU) or Program Administrator (PAs) owner looking to sell?

If so, start by taking an honest look at why. Your motivations will likely dictate which firms you should consider as potential buyers and which buyers will consider you. Chances are you’re selling your MGA for one of these three reasons:

1. You’re already great, but will be better with a stronger, larger foundation.

If your business’ leadership, talent and organizational structure has already yielded great success but you’re ready to level up even further, you’ll want to join forces with a larger company that enables you to take on more and expand your reach. A great acquirer for these programs will have the back-end infrastructure and bigger relationships you need to soar to new heights.

TIP: Strong MGAs with scale are attractive acquisition prospects.

2. You need more resources to grow.

MGAs with a great business model but limited capacity often seek a new home with the support they need to grow. If you are looking to access more carriers, leverage a broader distribution model, implement more efficient tech systems or improve talent recruitment efforts, the right buyer can provide the ancillary services you’re lacking so you can focus on what your business does well. Ancillary services to drive growth might include building infrastructure, growing market share, attracting new carriers, honing your offerings, offloading the overload of “everyday to-do’s” (i.e. legal, HR, accounting) so you can focus on growing your business.

TIP: Prioritize an acquisition partner that values decentralization versus an aggregator to maintain your unique strengths and values after the acquisition is complete. Arrowhead General Insurance Agency, now Arrowhead Programs, for example, was a fit for Brown & Brown — they had a strong leadership team who wanted a powerful platform to help them reach new heights. Today, the combined Arrowhead Programs represents more than $7 billion in written premium in the personal, commercial, specialty, professional liability and public entity segments.

3. You are looking to engage new markets.

MGAs may look to sell when their single carrier relationship is strained or dissolves.

TIP: Focus on developing a new capacity and revenue source before seeking out a buyer, or you will likely find limited and unattractive acquisition offers on the table — or no offers at all.

Get your MGA ready to sell

If you have a sound reason to sell (#1 or #2 above), prepare for a smooth acquisition before you begin the process with the following best practices:

· Demonstrate strong underwriting acumen. Your MGA should know your niche better than anyone. A buyer will expect that you have earned the respect of the carriers you work with by anticipating what’s coming next. Develop strong connections with key stakeholders and stay up to date on the trends in your industry. If, for example, you operate in a wildfire-prone area of California, a nuanced understanding of risk selection, the effect of reinsurance availability and changing weather conditions are table stakes.

· Have the right people in the right seats. Don’t underestimate the importance of having an excellent team — your people matter more than anything else in an acquisition. Make sure you have excellent leadership and underwriting expertise and sound succession planning. Focus on your workplace culture and prioritize team players that are nice to work with.

· Produce robust results. Demonstrate consistent historical profitability in your niche, so we have more reason to know that you are going to be a good bet. Your buyer will want to maintain a certain loss ratio on the business.

· Firm up your technology and operations. Implement a full-suite technological framework that includes policy administration, billing and (possibly) claims solutions. Establish efficient operations and procedures with clearly assigned roles for all critical functions, such as appointing producers, checking licenses and handling customer calls.

Let your why guide your way

If you’re ready to partner with a strong organization that can take your MGA to the next level, reach out to our team to learn more about the Brown & Brown acquisition process.

Interested in speaking with our Mergers & Acquisitions team? Email [email protected] or contact us directly.

Acquisitions for Agency Owners
by Vaughn Stoll, SVP & Director of Acquisitions

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