Managing general agencies (MGAs) and cover-holder groups such as delegated underwriting authorities globally earned revenues valued at $US12.5 billion ($17.2 billion) last year, according to consultancy Insuramore.

The revenue figure implies the sector handled around $US100 billion ($138 billion) in premiums.

Insuramore says the sector is fragmented, with the top five players believed to account for a combined 18.2% market share of revenues last year.

The top 20 holds a 39.6% revenue share and the top 50 56.9%, the consultancy says.

There are around 1000 groups globally in the MGA space, adding up to about 2000 individual MGA enterprises worldwide.

Insuramore says the sector has seen new MGAs “coming thick and fast in recent times” as the new entrants seek to take advantage of opportunities afforded by use of advanced technologies to disrupt the status quo.

“Partly because of this development of new MGAs, revenues in the global MGA market are likely to have been growing more rapidly in recent years than those in the much larger insurance broking sector,” the consultancy said.

“Other factors have been superior growth in segments of the insurance market traditionally served by MGAs plus the emergence of specialised risk classes for which the need for highly customised underwriting makes them well-suited to the MGA model, one of the most obvious of these being cyber.”