Gallagher Re, the global reinsurance broking and advisory business of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., has reported that premium ceded by its carrier composite into the reinsurance market increased by 18% year-on-year during 2025, reflecting continued demand for reinsurance capacity from the expanding US managing general agent (MGA) sector.
The findings, published in Gallagher Re’s 2026 MGA Market Report, also point to sustained premium growth, improving profitability and an evolving mix of rated and unrated capital supporting MGA programmes.
Gallagher Re estimates that the US MGA market generated more than $125 billion in premium during 2025, representing growth of around 10%, including business not reported under NAIC Note 19. Within its programme carrier composite of 25 insurers, gross written premium increased by 14% to $33.1 billion.
While this represents a moderation from the annual growth rates of between 22.1% and 30% recorded from 2021 to 2024, Gallagher Re notes that maintaining such momentum becomes increasingly challenging as premium volumes grow. Even so, the firm estimates that MGAs now account for approximately 12.5% of the US property and casualty insurance market, reinforcing their position as an increasingly important distribution channel for both underwriting expertise and insurance capacity.
Gallagher Re also highlights the growing scale of leading programme carriers, with State National and Transverse together accounting for 22% of the composite, while 13 of the 25 carriers each wrote more than $1 billion in premium during 2025. The report suggests that increasing collaboration between traditional insurers and MGAs continues to support market expansion, describing some carrier activity as driven by a “fear of missing out” mentality.
Looking ahead, Gallagher Re expects MGA premium growth to remain at around 10% in 2026, assuming stable economic conditions, which would add a further $3 billion of premium to its programme carrier composite.
On underwriting performance, Gallagher Re reports that although the programme carrier composite continued to record gross combined ratios above 100%, net combined ratios, after accounting for fronting and other fee income, improved to the low 90s between the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2026. This compares with net combined ratios ranging from 102% to 113% during 2022 and 2023.
The report also highlights continued expansion in reinsurance utilisation. Gallagher Re says its carrier composite ceded $21.2 billion of premium into the reinsurance market during 2025, including significant placements with captive reinsurers. This represented an 18% increase compared with year-end 2024 and a 59% rise since 2023, underscoring the continued availability of reinsurance capital for MGA business.
According to Gallagher Re, the five largest reinsurance counterparties assumed $4.8 billion of premium, equivalent to 22.7% of all ceded premium within the composite, while the ten largest accounted for 34%. Lloyd’s remained the largest individual source of reinsurance capital for North American MGAs during 2025, assuming $1.7 billion of premium and representing around 7% of gross recoverables.
Gallagher Re reports that Munich Re and Hannover Re recorded the strongest year-on-year growth among the ten largest reinsurers, increasing assumed premium by 74% and 84% respectively. Allianz and Lloyd’s also posted notable gains of 49% and 51%. Collectively, these four organisations accounted for 82% of the increase in assumed premium among the top 50 reinsurers included in Gallagher Re’s composite.
The report notes that Munich Re’s growth follows several years of declining participation between 2022 and 2024, while Hannover Re almost doubled its MGA premium in a single year. Longtail Re also recorded a sizeable increase in assumed premium, whereas Swiss Re and ICW experienced the largest reductions in dollar terms.
Gallagher Re also identifies a gradual shift towards greater use of unrated reinsurance capital by fronting carriers. Although highly rated balance sheets continue to dominate, with eight of the ten largest reinsurers holding AM Best ratings of A+ or above, the report indicates that programme carriers are increasingly incorporating unrated capital into their reinsurance structures.
According to Gallagher Re, rated counterparties continue to provide 65% of assumed MGA premium and account for 71% of reinsurance recoverables at year-end 2025, leaving 35% of premium and 29% of recoverables supported by unrated reinsurers.
Gallagher Re notes that Artex, the captive risk management subsidiary of Arthur J. Gallagher, remained among the ten largest MGA reinsurers, ranking tenth with $433 million of assumed premium. However, the report highlights TopSail as the largest unrated balance sheet, with $619 million of assumed premium and almost $1 billion of reinsurance recoverables. West Bay Re, Roosevelt Re and Longtail Re also increased their presence, combining to assume $1.1 billion of premium during 2025. Other notable participants include Altamont Capital, Northern Re and the newly established Fractal Re facility supporting CRC.
Gallagher Re concludes that while the growing use of unrated capital is broadening capacity available to MGAs, it also increases capital requirements for fronting carriers. As whole-account quota share arrangements continue to expand during 2026, including those backed by unrated capital, the report suggests that carriers and reinsurance buyers will need to balance attractive underwriting economics with shareholder return on equity expectations. In some instances, Gallagher Re notes that MGAs may need to accept lower commission levels to offset the additional capital costs borne by programme carriers.
The firm adds that all figures relate solely to its programme carrier composite and should not be interpreted as representing the total premium assumed by individual reinsurers across the wider market, as many MGAs continue to place business with larger rated reinsurance carriers.
