At the Target Markets Annual Meeting 2025, Fortegra's Chief Operating Officer, Abbie Taylor, sat down with Insurance Journal to discuss key industry trends, including the state of the MGA market, Fortegra's international expansion, the DB Insurance acquisition, and the company's talent retention strategy.
The MGA Sector Continues to Grow
Abbie highlighted the MGA sector's remarkable growth, which has now surpassed $110 billion in the U.S.—nearly double what it was five years ago. With more than 1,100 MGAs operating and strong expansion in the UK and Europe, the sector is outpacing the broader P&C market. This surge is driven by demand for specialized risk solutions, as talented professionals increasingly leave large carriers to launch niche agencies focused on complex risks.
For Fortegra, Target Markets represents an opportunity to connect with MGAs, understand their goals, and explore partnerships. As Abbie noted, "The excess and surplus lines market continues to expand as the need for specialized, complex risk solutions grows. MGAs are seizing this opportunity by designing tailored products for unique and hard-to-place risks, with specialty insurers like Fortegra acting as essential partners by providing the capacity needed for this expansion."
Challenges Facing MGAs
Despite the sector's growth, MGAs face significant challenges: the need for investment in technology—particularly in leveraging AI and automation effectively—navigating an increasingly complex regulatory landscape, and managing high submission volumes alongside declining conversion rates. At the same time, growing risk complexity is creating opportunities for MGAs to design niche products with support from carriers like Fortegra.
Fortegra Expands Globally
Abbie discussed Fortegra's UK and European growth strategy, emphasizing the importance of establishing a presence in Lloyd's underwriting room and being admitted to the NAIC Quarterly Listing of Alien Insurers. She described this combination as "powerful, as we can build those natural relationships with brokers and agents on the ground while providing the capacity to tackle complex risks on both sides of the Atlantic." These strategic moves enable Fortegra to offer seamless market access and capacity to UK and London markets while advancing its global expansion goals.
Abbie also addressed the DB Insurance acquisition of Fortegra, explaining that it combines Fortegra's specialty underwriting expertise with substantial capital and a global expansion strategy. The partnership will help DB establish a broader presence in the U.S. and European specialty markets as part of its goal to become a leading global insurance group by 2033.
Fortegra Commits to Adding Value for Partners
Emphasizing what sets Fortegra apart in a competitive market, Abbie highlighted the company's commitment to building lasting partnerships by providing significant value beyond just capacity. Fortegra delivers this value through five core disciplines: strong relationships with quality distributors, consistent underwriting excellence, disciplined claims management, focused balance sheet management, and leveraging AI and data science for better decision-making.
In the data science space, Fortegra systematically analyzes millions of data points to identify emerging trends, evaluate pricing opportunities, and detect risk concentrations before they impact results. In claims management, the company's philosophy is "keeping small claims small" through proactive containment and connecting claims, underwriting, and actuarial data in a continuous feedback loop.
Talent Retention as an Industry Priority
As Fortegra approaches $3.5 billion in revenue, Abbie shared insights into one of the company's key priorities: talent development. The insurance industry is projected to face a potential 50% workforce reduction by 2039 due to retirements (Bureau of Labor Statistics). To build a strong talent pipeline, Fortegra is investing in both emerging professionals and existing talent.
The company offers a two-year leadership development program for emerging professionals, allowing associates to rotate across departments and gain a comprehensive understanding of the business. This program has been running successfully in Jacksonville for several years and will soon launch in Fortegra's London office.
For existing talent, Fortegra is launching the Fortegra Institute, a platform for continuous learning that helps future leaders build expertise in areas such as underwriting and actuarial science. Abbie emphasized that Fortegra's "forward-thinking, entrepreneurial approach serves as a powerful differentiator in attracting the next generation of talent."
To learn more about Abbie's views on the MGA market, global expansion, and talent development, read the full Q&A at Insurance Journal.