InsTech - insurance & innovation with Matthew Grant & Robin Merttens

Tim Quayle, CEO: OneAdvent: What makes an MGA succeed? (362)


Listen Later

What does it take to build an MGA that not only launches but lasts?

Tim Quayle has spent the past decade answering that question, not in theory, but in practice. As CEO of OneAdvent, a London-based MGA incubator and service platform, he’s helped launch and scale more than 15 underwriting businesses and seen plenty more that didn’t make it.

In this episode, Matthew Grant speaks to Tim about the real ingredients of MGA success. Not the glossy pitch-deck version, but the messy, pragmatic reality: why experience matters, what investors are really looking for, and how the market has matured in the last ten years since the “InsurTech” label first emerged.

In this conversation, Tim shares:

  • Why most early-stage MGAs underestimate how long things take and how much they’ll cost
  • What’s changed in capacity and investment appetite, and why “grown-up plans” are now a must
  • The risk of pushing too hard, too fast and how to preserve credibility with stakeholders
  • Why deep insurance experience still outweighs tech fluency in this market
  • The myth of radical disruption and why incremental improvement is the better bet
  • How OneAdvent is investing in AI and data to better support underwriting teams across its platform
  • We also explore broader themes: the shifting dynamics between MGAs and capacity providers, the evolution of embedded insurance, and why many promising innovations still struggle to gain traction in such a regulated, relationship-driven industry.

    You can join Tim Quayle in person at our upcoming MGA Half Day event on July 15th. Tim will be moderating a panel on the key ingredients for a winning MGA, alongside Adam Kembrooke, Founder and Managing Director, Amiga Specialty, Jacqui Ferrier, CEO, Carbon Underwriting and Tomos Ashfield, Chief Development Officer, The Ardonagh Group. 

    With only a few tickets left, sign up now to be able to join us for what is shaping up to be the biggest UK gathering focused entirely on the delegated authority market this year.

    If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Matthew Grant on LinkedIn.

    Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

    Continuing Professional Development

    This InsTech Podcast Episode is accredited by the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII). By listening, you can claim up to 0.5 hours towards your CPD scheme.

    By the end of this podcast, you should be able to meet the following Learning Objectives:

    • Explain why radical disruption often fails in insurance, and how incremental innovation leads to sustainable business growth.
    • List the core capabilities MGAs need to present a “grown-up” proposition to capacity providers and investors.
    • Identify the key components of a data-driven MGA operating model and how platforms like OneAdvent’s OneView can support underwriting performance.
    • If your organisation is a member of InsTech and you would like to receive a quarterly summary of the CPD hours you have earned, visit the Episode 362 page of the InsTech website or email [email protected] to let us know you have listened to this podcast.

      To help us measure the impact of the learning, we would be grateful if you would take a minute to complete a quick feedback survey.

      ...more
      View all episodesView all episodes
      Download on the App Store

      InsTech - insurance & innovation with Matthew Grant & Robin MerttensBy InsTech

      • 4.6
      • 4.6
      • 4.6
      • 4.6
      • 4.6

      4.6

      9 ratings


      More shows like InsTech - insurance & innovation with Matthew Grant & Robin Merttens

      View all
      Business Daily by BBC World Service

      Business Daily

      526 Listeners

      Wake Up to Money by BBC Radio 5 Live

      Wake Up to Money

      52 Listeners

      The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch by Harry Stebbings

      The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

      535 Listeners

      Masters in Business by Bloomberg

      Masters in Business

      2,182 Listeners

      The McKinsey Podcast by McKinsey & Company

      The McKinsey Podcast

      380 Listeners

      The a16z Show by Andreessen Horowitz

      The a16z Show

      1,094 Listeners

      The Times Tech Podcast by The Sunday Times

      The Times Tech Podcast

      173 Listeners

      Eye On The Market by Michael Cembalest

      Eye On The Market

      291 Listeners

      Inside the Strategy Room by McKinsey & Company

      Inside the Strategy Room

      173 Listeners

      FT News Briefing by Financial Times

      FT News Briefing

      657 Listeners

      Behind the Money by Financial Times

      Behind the Money

      227 Listeners

      Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast by Hugh MacArthur, Bain & Company

      Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast

      143 Listeners

      The Voice of Insurance by The Voice of Insurance Mark Geoghegan

      The Voice of Insurance

      25 Listeners

      The AI Daily Brief: Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis by Nathaniel Whittemore

      The AI Daily Brief: Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

      640 Listeners

      Unhedged by Financial Times & Pushkin Industries

      Unhedged

      191 Listeners