MGAs play a very important role in the insurance distribution channel, and the right MGA can make selling much easier for brokers and agents.
MGAs are undoubtedly vying for your business, but what should you look for when choosing MGAs to partner with? While the role of an MGA is the same across the board, the MGAs you partner with must have the right qualities and characteristics to truly be of value to you.
We’ve come up with a list of 13 things to look for when choosing an MGA and how to get this important relationship off to a good start.
1. Ensure the MGA Offers the Insurance Products Your Agency Needs
MGAs generally have access to a lot of markets, but do they have the particular products your agency needs? For example, If you’re working in a niche market such as tree care services, you will need to partner with an MGA that offers crane and boom exposures. In the colder months, your tree care customers may also need insurance to cover exposures related to snow and ice removal, and you need to have access to the right products to fully protect all exposures in their businesses.
MGAs should also be able to assure you that they partner with insurers that have strong financial ratings, which is vitally important when your customers have a claim.
2. Your MGA Puts Safety First
As a broker or agent, you’re continually stressing the importance of safety with your clients. A valued MGA will have an equal interest in employee safety and will be happy to pass along safety tips and other information for you to share with your customers about preventing injuries and damage to equipment. A good MGA will also be able to pass along their experience with how your customers can inspire a culture of safety within their companies to help prevent claims.
3. The Customer-Minded MGA Is a Good Choice
Brokers and agents must be customer-minded to grow and scale successfully. A valued MGA will also have a solid understanding of the customer journey including the point of sale, customer service, and retention. MGAs should know that your best customers are your best source of referral business and they know how to support your efforts to deliver excellent customer service.
4. The Relationship With Your MGA Is More Than Transactional
You’ll depend on your MGA for help with quotes, getting applications approved, and processing claims, so it’s important to partner with an MGA who is interested in developing a good working business relationship with you.
Good business relationships require both parties to give the relationship the amount of time it demands. Your preferred MGA will be personable and be an active listener. They’ll give you their undivided attention during calls and in-person visits, answer your questions fully, and have respect for your time.
5. Guide Brokers Through the Claims Process
MGAs should bring claims experience to the table. Commercial claims can be quite complex, and MGAs can be instrumental in guiding you through the claims process so you can give your customers much-needed assurance that claims will be handled professionally. Depending on the claim and policy, an MGA may be able to assist in getting claims settled expediently and ensuring that customers get payments promptly. MGAs may also have resources for vendors and repair technicians your customers can count on.
6. MGAs Should Be Interested in Your Goals and Help You Achieve Them
The relationship between an MGA and brokers and agents should be mutually beneficial. A quality MGA will want to know what your sales goals are and what you need to do to achieve them. They will check in with you periodically to ask about your progress and suggest ways to increase sales. The more business you can give them, the more you will motivate them to push your applications through.
7. MGAs Have Deep Knowledge and Experience in Your Niche Markets
One way to assess an MGAs depth and breadth of knowledge in a certain niche is to ask how long they have been working in that niche. An experienced MGA will be able to discuss the niche’s special risks and challenges and be able to come up with insightful solutions to difficult problems. You will have a comfort level in dealing with customers when an experienced MGA can walk you through situations you’re unfamiliar with.
8. MGAs Use Modern Technology to Promote Efficiency
Speed and efficiency are a necessity in the insurance industry today. Successful MGAs have online platforms and other tools to streamline the quoting and application processes which will greatly benefit you and your customers. The best digital tools will also create efficiency in policy administration, claims, and customer service as well as give you meaningful data about your customers.
9. Ease of Doing Business Benefits Brokers and Agents
When you meet with a potential MGA partner, assess their communication style to ensure you can get answers when you need them as you will be having regular interactions with your MGA. Be sure to ask MGAs about what their normal response times are. Also, MGAs will also be interacting with your CSRs, and you’ll want to know they can count on your MGA to get the answers they need to serve customers.
10. Sales and Marketing Support
You’ll appreciate working with an MGA who can provide sales and marketing support. They should be able to supply you with brochures and handouts and introduce you to digital tools to help increase sales and deliver better customer service. MGAs also often have white-label marketing tools and templates that allow you to insert your logo and branding information.
Active MGAs will be actively involved with trade associations, industry shows, and sponsorship opportunities. They attend industry conventions, conferences, and roundtable discussions. MGAs will also know how to leverage digital marketing efforts such as your website, blog, and social media platforms for marketing.
11. Local Underwriters Have a Pulse on Industries in the Area
MGAs have some underwriting authority, yet you may have risks that need to go through a company underwriter. In that case, you will want to ask if the company has dedicated underwriters that can approve applications within a reasonable timeframe. The best underwriters are local, and they have a pulse on niches in the surrounding area.
12. MGAs Have Proficiency in Industry-Specific Loss Control
MGAs possess expertise in loss control specific to various industries and should be able to assist you with analyzing risks within your niche and offer suggestions on how to help your customers address them. MGAs may have resources to prevent or mitigate losses. For example, brokers and agents who partner with NIP Group have access to NIP Vault, which is a proprietary learning management system that helps reduce risks and claims which will ultimately lower the cost of insurance.
13. What Other Agents Have to Say About Them
Lastly, what is the buzz around town with other brokers and agents about their experience working with a particular MGA? It’s worth a phone call to find out if they’ve had a good or bad experience with an MGA. Where the need is strong enough, you may be willing to give an MGA a shot at your business even if another agent’s opinion of an MGA is mediocre.
The Best MGAs Offer Comprehensive Business Insurance Solutions
Before setting up a meeting with an MGA as your potential insurance partner, be sure to review our checklist of 13 things to look for in an MGA. They will serve as talking points to steer the conversation in a positive direction.
To learn more about how NIP Group can serve your agency as an MGA, contact us at (866) 918-8134 or visit the NIP Group website today.
