Managing general agent (MGA)
A managing general agent (MGA) is a specialized insurance intermediary to which an insurer delegates underwriting authority, allowing it to select and price risks, bind coverage, and sometimes issue policies, adjust claims, or negotiate reinsurance on the insurer's behalf.
Unlike a standard agent who mainly sells policies, an MGA operates under a delegated authority agreement, often called a binding authority, that lets it perform functions normally reserved for the insurer itself. Depending on the contract, an MGA may underwrite and price individual risks, issue policies, appoint retail producers, and handle claims, all within limits the carrier sets.
MGAs concentrate specialized expertise in a niche class of business, such as a particular industry or type of exposure, which is why they are central to specialty and program insurance. The carrier gains distribution and technical knowledge it might not have in-house, while the MGA gains the ability to act quickly on the carrier's behalf.
For example, an MGA focused on drone operators might design a tailored liability product, underwrite applications, and issue policies on a carrier's paper, while that carrier and its reinsurers ultimately bear the risk.
As an AI-native reinsurer, RiskCube Re provides reinsurance capacity to MGAs and carriers underwriting emerging and complex risks. In the US, the NAIC's Managing General Agents Act offers a model framework for how states regulate these delegated relationships.
Definitions are educational and general, and specific contracts, endorsements, and state rules may modify them. For regulatory guidance, refer to the NAIC or the Insurance Information Institute.