How to Scale an Insurance Business with Tech and Talent
Want to learn how the sharpshooters of the insurance sector scale an insurance business with tech and talent? Our founder, Rod Giess, discusses.
- By SpeedBuilder Systems
- December 1, 2025
- 8 min read
The MGA renaissance is in full swing. These nimble, focused players have transformed insurance. They’ve done so not by casting a wide net, but instead by aiming like sharpshooters at underserved markets, from youth sports to manufactured housing and beyond.
MGAs are scaling at speed, blending modern platforms with market-savvy teams. While cloud-native systems fuel their agility, being able to scale talent with deep niche expertise coupled with strategic partnerships ensures they will continue to adapt and thrive in complex insurance markets. Technology paves the way for MGAs to enter the market speedily, while talent allows them to stand the test of time.
Through the stories of niche-MGA players like Hippo, CoverTree, Value Insurance, Players Health, Acies Specialist Schemes and Bishop Street Underwriters, which partners with MGAs, let’s explore how niche MGAs harness a combination of tech and talent to redefine specialization, agility and scale and uncover key insights on how to scale an insurance business effectively.
Case Studies: How Insurance Giants Scaled Up
Most niche MGAs begin with a founder’s obsession. For example, Players Health sprang from Tyree Burks’ mission to make youth sports safer. CoverTree emerged to serve millions of Americans in manufactured homes with few insurance options. Hippo reimagined homeowners coverage for a digital age. Bishop Street Underwriters recently expanded its MGA footprint into aviation, crafting tailored coverage for small aircraft, hangar owners and airports. But as each of these MGAs have quickly observed, mastering how to scale an insurance business requires more than vision alone.
When CoverTree took aim at the underserved manufactured housing market, CEO Adarsh Rachmale, inspired by his Michigan roots, immersed himself in brokerages and communities to understand homeowners’ needs, emphasizing the importance of niche expertise:
“Insurtechs and major carriers have historically ignored middle America, specialty insurance and manufactured homes,” said CoverTree Co-Founder and CEO Adarsh Rachmale at the launch of digital manufactured home insurance. “Specialty insurance is difficult to underwrite and distribute. A specialty insurance policy often passes through multiple pairs of hands before it ends up with the consumer—who ends up overpaying and getting the worst experience. We believe manufactured home insurance should be easy, modern, and affordable.” In response, the MGA deepened its underwriting capabilities and distribution in partnership with Markel, the program’s carrier, to launch a specialty manufactured-home offering.
As Hippo set out to revolutionize homeowners insurance for a digital world, CEO Rick McCathron reportedly channeled decades of industry experience into building a modern platform. He shared, “Our people are our first, biggest differentiator. We are a team of seasoned insurance professionals that combine a deep understanding of risk, gained from decades spent at the world’s most respected carriers, armed with Hippo’s proprietary technology to transform the industry.” Hippo pairs underwriters from Chubb and USAA with product managers from LinkedIn, blending institutional knowledge with startup thinking to iterate fast without losing sight of risk.
To make sports safer, Players Health, led by CEO Tyree Burks’ relentless drive to protect young athletes, built a unique team. Burks is cited by ClubSolutions Magazine as saying, “The best-run clubs treat safety and accountability as part of their identity. That means investing in staff training, having clear reporting systems and setting the tone from the top…And don’t be afraid to ask hard questions about risk. The operators who stay curious and proactive are the ones who build environments where both their people and their businesses can thrive.”
Hybrid Scaling: When People Meet Tech
Like sharpshooters, MGAs hit their targets with precision, using flexible, cloud-based platforms that allow experts to focus on their respective niches. Many niche MGAs are able to thrive because they are built for speed, owing to tech that left legacy insurers in the dust.
Cloud-native platforms handle quoting, policy administration and carrier integration, letting MGAs focus on their unique specializations. This tech innovation has been the spark that has turned bold founder visions into reality, paving the way for MGAs to launch products in weeks instead of months or years.
As Billy Walsh, a partner at Deloitte Canada, once explained, MGAs may be uniquely positioned to outpace traditional insurers in adopting automation and AI not because they’re bigger, but because they’re leaner. With fewer legacy systems and more adaptable structures, MGAs can innovate quickly and test emerging technologies with less friction.
Their tech agility gives them a competitive head-start, but Walsh cautioned that the race is still in its early days. Success won’t hinge on technology alone. Instead, it will depend on how MGAs align their digital strategies with human expertise and long-term business models. A key factor is that technology has strengthened underwriters’ reach, not replaced them.
Value Insurance MGA, a startup targeting non-standard auto in Alabama, accesses cloud-native platforms to streamline agent workflows in a price-sensitive market.
“As a startup, Value must run ‘lean and mean’ on an easy-to-use, intuitive system. Making it easy for the agents to bind business and process payments is essential in the high-volume, price-sensitive world of nonstandard auto. Our agents process business quickly, and rarely call in with questions, a real testament to the simple workflow and intuitive design,” stated Value CEO Paul Gabe, reflecting the company’s integration of SpeedBuilder Systems, giving it the edge in high-turnover environments.
Building on its strategy, Bishop Street Underwriters stepped into personal aviation with its recent acquisition of Aerospace Insurance Managers (AIM) from Hallmark Financial, extending the platform to underwriting for small aircraft, hangar owners and airports. Chad Weber, President of Bishop Street, stated,
“The [AIM] team brings specialized expertise, strong capacity partners and an excellent reputation to our platform, further diversifying our portfolio and advancing our commitment to aligning with the best of the best in the insurance industry.”
The AIM acquisition marks Bishop Street’s entry into the personal aviation market, augmenting its niche portfolio with seasoned underwriters and tailored cloud-based tools designed for the job.
How to Scale an Insurance Business: Harnessing Culture as a Strategic Lever
Scaling isn’t just about headcount but also about alignment. Like sharpshooters, MGAs keep their teams focused with fast decision-making, tight feedback loops and a shared purpose.
Players Health embeds itself in the sports world, with Burks serving on youth boards to understand pain points. In a recent interview with Youth Sports Business Report, Burks shared, “As technology continues to evolve, the risk management space must evolve with it. At Players Health, we’re prioritizing the use of predictive analytics and data-driven insights to personalize our offerings and proactively address athlete safety.”
He continued: “One of our recent advancements involves leveraging survey-based data across various levels of athletic participation—from youth sports to the collegiate and professional ranks—to better understand and respond to the conditions impacting athletes’ mental and physical well-being.”
Players Health’s partnerships with groups like USA Cheer have helped better shape its risk protocols and products. This data-driven model has served as a real growth engine, as evidenced by its successful $60 million funding round at year-end 2024, the proceeds from which are being used to expand its athlete safety and insurance solutions through improved data-driven strategies.
Additionally, by integrating tools like Cloverleaf Analytics’ Insurance Intelligence platform, which it did in 2023, Players Health is also better able to pull actionable insights from various AI and Machine Learning datasets, paving the way for more personalized risk management and greater operational efficiency. This approach aligns with the company’s mission-led culture and highlights how fostering a team oriented around data insights can accelerate scaling in niche markets.
As another example, Hippo’s recent deal with Baldwin showcases the company’s ability to scale through both talent and technology. As CEO Rick McCathron told Insurance Insider US following the announcement, it was “one of those rare situations where one plus one absolutely equals three.” That’s because the transaction triples Hippo’s homeowner leads and also extends its MGA capacity—demonstrating how the company leverages its technology stack and a seasoned team to deepen market reach and bolster product distribution.
Hippo further harnesses data by integrating cutting-edge sources, including rooftop geocoding for precise risk modeling, which leads to better loss ratios and more accurate underwriting for the company’s bottom line. For instance, by harnessing advanced analytics, Hippo captures insights at scale to fine tune products, resulting in more tailored coverage that aligns closely with homeowners’ unique needs, fostering higher retention rates and stronger overall feedback from policyholders. It also makes the company more agile, owing to flexible systems that enable quick adjustments to emerging risks or market shifts, while streamlining workflows for greater efficiency, helping to process claims more quickly through automation partnerships with companies like Claimatic and Five Sigma.
Hippo’s earlier partnership with CAPE Analytics introduced real-time property intelligence across the workflow. By harnessing AI tools such as deep learning and geospatial imagery, the system creates on-the-ground signals like roof condition, tree cover and defensible space. That visibility helped Hippo move faster through the lifecycle, from producing more accurate quotes and routing inspections to prioritizing and resolving claims sooner, and it let teams respond more quickly to customer needs.
Just as important, it reinforced a data-driven culture. Instead of raw feeds, teams get clear, actionable insights that spark better product design, sharper risk selection and more personalized service. The result is a business that continues to adapt and evolve, making decisions with confidence and supporting sustainable growth without added complexity.
For its part, CoverTree honed in on targeted partnerships to scale its distribution. “We also have diverse distribution channels, partnering with community owner-operators and lenders to streamline the insurance process,” according to CoverTree Co-Founder and CEO Adarsh Rachmale cited by Everywhere VC. This strategic focus, combined with hiring talented relationship managers with housing expertise, helped CoverTree embed itself into every step of the manufactured-home journey.
Relationship managers and support teams have a knack for transforming complex products into accessible solutions, propelling brokers and partnerships forward. They turn to shared online portals and easy-to-connect tools to provide quick insurance quotes right when residents are moving in, renewing leases or closing loans, making the process smoother for property managers and lenders alike. Speedy policy approvals and automatic insurance verifications help keep everything compliant and increase successful placements for both agents and brokers. Features such as personalized claims support, multi-language help and focused safety tips build stronger loyalty in often-overlooked communities, turning these partnerships into a reliable path for continued growth.
The Role of Insurance Networks in Gaining Scale
In the fast-paced world of insurance, where MGAs like Hippo and CoverTree are already sharpening their aim at niche markets, scaling doesn’t have to mean reinventing the wheel alone. An insurance network is a consortium that helps independent agencies, MGAs and program writers borrow scale.
Networks perform tasks such as aggregating production to open doors with insurance carriers, negotiating better commissions and contingents, and providing shared services like compliance support, training and modern quoting platforms. For founders focused on how to scale an insurance business, the right network can bolster new business without adding the fixed cost of building out everything in-house.
As an emerging MGA eyeing expansion, carrier appointments and state entries feel like hurdles. Where networks help most is market access and momentum. Early-stage teams can secure appointments faster, enter new states with less friction and grow your insurance client relationships through co-marketing, education and warm introductions to targeted carriers.
As volumes grow, networks often step up to the plate with useful resources like performance comparisons, risk assessment guides and streamlined submission processes that cut down the time from quote request to policy issuance. Networks are also known to provide access to user-friendly technologies that keeps data entry consistent and sharpens the accuracy of placements, leading to more wins and less back-and-forth for agents and insurers alike.
That mix will help your business focus on goals like expanding its reach, building greater capacity and growing steadily while keeping your team focused on what matters most: client relationships.
The Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance, one of the industry’s largest networks, has helped thousands of agencies and MGAs pool resources to gain preferred carrier access and tech tools, turning small players into competitive forces. Smart Choice Agents, known for its zero-fee entry model, enables quick scaling through strong commissions and marketing support without upfront costs.
Of course, finding the right fit is crucial. Leaders should be sure an:
- Weigh key factors like overall costs, sales volume requirements, how straightforward it is to exit and preserving your brand’s independence.
- Then, keep an eye on a handful of straightforward metrics: how long it takes to secure carrier approvals, success rates per carrier, loss performance by coverage type, growth in active policies and feedback from partners.
Used well, a network becomes a true force multiplier, not just a shortcut, but a smart, hands-on way to expand your insurance presence today while honing the skills you’ll need for the future of insurance. By weaving these networks into the tech and talent strategies we’ve covered, MGAs can bring successful stories help you build and scale your business.
Talent & Tech Together
Tech has lit the way, but people bring the story to life. Niche MGAs began with a founder’s passion. These sharpshooters shared a clear formula for how to scale an insurance business, blending talent and tech with precision. They hired for fluency, bringing in teams who knew their niche—whether manufactured housing or youth sports—to craft better products and forge deeper relationships, then trained them to scale with confidence.
Cloud-native platforms handle the heavy lifting, managing quoting and administration so talent can focus on customers, not configuration. A mission-led culture has the potential to create momentum, driving speedy decisions and keeping teams aligned on purpose. They steer clear of automating insight, instead using AI and data to enhance, not replace, human expertise.
A common thread among these niche MGAs is that early on, they diversified distribution, mastered partnerships, brokers, and direct channels with strategic hires to navigate each area’s unique demands and customer expectations. As Hippo’s McCathron emphasized, success depends on both ‘a scalable technology platform’ and ‘a great team’—seasoned underwriting professionals empowered to price accurately, manage risk and build lasting relationships.
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