Picture an experienced underwriter who's spent 30 years building carrier relationships, spotting risks others miss, and mentoring producers. Over the next few years, thousands of professionals like them will retire. The challenge business leaders face isn't simply replacing headcount. It's preserving the expertise, judgment, and trust experienced staff have built over decades.
That was one of the biggest themes Emily McGinn, SVP and General Manager of Vertafore's MGA & Wholesale business, discussed during a recent appearance on the Insurtech Leadership Podcast. As the MGA workforce evolves, succession planning is no longer just an HR conversation. It's a business strategy conversation. And technology and AI capabilities all have a role to play.
Where the MGA market stands
The MGA market continues to grow.
"MGAs are consolidating,” said Emily McGinn. “The bigger players are buying, and we've seen a significant increase in M&A activity driven by private equity and acquisitions."
In the U.S., premium flowing through MGAs now exceeds $100 billion annually, representing roughly 9–10% of the property and casualty market. At the same time, growth is becoming more measured than the rapid expansion of recent years.
Throughout 2026 we’ve seen M&A activity remain strong, even as buyers become more selective and place greater emphasis on operational excellence and long-term value creation.
The MGA market is growing and evolving, but people remain at the center of every successful business. As organizations expand, preparing the next generation of talent is just as important as growing the book of business.
The future of MGAs depends on more than hiring
Six months ago, Vertafore released the MGA Workforce & Technology Report to highlight how the MGA workforce was changing. Today, those findings feel less like a snapshot and more like a reality check.
A demographic shift is accelerating. The report found that 67% of the MGA workforce is age 44 or older, while only 4% is under 28. That translates to roughly six professionals over 55 for every one worker under 25. These numbers represent decades of underwriting expertise, carrier relationships, and market knowledge that many organizations can't afford to lose.
MGAs are entrepreneurial. They move fast, they're growing quickly and there are a lot of opportunities for people to move up. But because they're growing so fast, they don't always have structured training programs. That's why it's important for MGA leaders to take a step back, look at their internal processes and make sure they're setting the next generation up for success."
More professionals are also entering the MGA industry from outside insurance, bringing fresh perspectives and new ideas. Helping them learn the business while preserving decades of underwriting expertise has become one of the biggest opportunities for MGA leaders. That's where AI and technology come in.
Bridging the talent gap with AI and user-friendly technology
Succession planning is about making sure decades of underwriting judgment, carrier relationships and institutional knowledge don't disappear when experienced employees retire. That's where AI is creating a new opportunity. In addition to improving efficiency, MGAs can use AI to capture expertise, document best practices and build training resources that help new employees get up to speed faster.
The industry is reaching a turning point. Six months ago, 21% of MGAs said they were already using AI and another 50% planned to adopt it soon. Today, AI is evolving faster than ever.
ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI models are releasing new versions every few weeks or months, and that's really changing the game, companies are starting to see clear ROI from real-world use cases."
MGA leaders are moving beyond experimentation to practical use cases that deliver measurable value. Instead of asking whether AI belongs in the business, many are asking where it can make the biggest impact.
For Emily, that starts with supporting people, not replacing them. "Our philosophy is human first," she said. "It's not about replacing people. It's about helping them make better decisions by getting the right information in front of them faster."
Whether it's organizing information, summarizing submissions or helping transfer institutional knowledge, AI should give experienced professionals better tools while helping the next generation build confidence faster.
Preparing for what's next
The MGA market isn't slowing down, but the path to growth is changing. The organizations that succeed will be the ones that adapt to evolving carrier expectations and make long-term investments in the people, processes and technology that preserve expertise for the next generation.
The talent cliff is here, but for MGAs that start planning now, it also represents an opportunity to build a stronger, more resilient business.