This text is a part of a sponsored sequence by dyad.
MGAs don’t battle to scale as a result of groups lack experience or work ethic. They battle as a result of their working mannequin quietly bleeds time—by way of rework, handoffs, knowledge clean-up, and handbook coordination that compounds as quantity grows.
That leakage is operational friction. And whereas know-how performs a important function in decreasing it, right here’s the uncomfortable fact many organizations miss:
Know-how solely helps when you perceive the place friction is definitely being created.
With out that readability, even the most effective platforms find yourself automating inefficiency as a substitute of eliminating it.
The Actual Price of Operational Friction
Operational friction doesn’t all the time present up as a line merchandise, however its results are measurable:
- Misplaced capability: Guide steps and rework restrict what number of submissions a group can realistically deal with.
- Slower cycle instances: Delays cut back dealer confidence and win charges.
- Information inconsistency: Re-entered knowledge inevitably results in reporting gaps, audit danger, and downstream corrections.
- Strained relationships: When processes lack visibility, companions fill the hole with emails and follow-ups.
Over time, friction turns into normalized and we start to suppose that the established order is “simply how MGA operations work.” In actuality, it’s often an indication that workflows, methods, and expectations aren’t aligned.
The place friction tends to pay attention
Whereas each group is totally different, friction persistently clusters in three levels of the MGA lifecycle.
Submission consumption and underwriting preparation
Submissions arrive in diverse codecs, with incomplete or inconsistent knowledge. Underwriters and ops groups spend important time normalizing info earlier than any danger analysis can start.
Duplication shortly follows: knowledge is copied into spreadsheets, methods, templates, and portals—every touchpoint including delay and rising the possibility of error.
Sign to look at: high-quality submissions wait behind low-quality ones as a result of triage is inconsistent.
Quoting and binding
In lots of MGAs, quoting workflows solely transfer ahead when somebody manually nudges them. Standing checks, follow-ups, and unclear possession grow to be the de facto course of.
At bind, lacking or scattered documentation creates last-minute scrambles, usually resolved by way of e-mail moderately than structured workflows.
Sign to look at: groups spend extra time coordinating work than finishing it.
Put up-bind servicing and reporting
Endorsements, renewals, bordereaux-style reporting, knowledge calls, and audits expose friction that’s been quietly accumulating since submission.
When knowledge should be pulled from a number of methods, reconciled manually, and reformatted for companions, servicing turns into labor-intensive—and troublesome to scale.
Sign to look at: each coverage change looks like a small venture.
Measure earlier than you modernize
Many MGAs bounce to instruments as a result of instruments really feel decisive. However know-how utilized to an undefined drawback hardly ever produces significant change.
Earlier than introducing new platforms or automation, take three foundational steps.
1. Map workflows as they really function
Give attention to high-impact workflows—submission to cite, quote to bind, endorsements, renewals. Doc every step, handoff, resolution level, and system interplay.
Pay shut consideration to:
- steps that depend on e-mail to progress
- knowledge pulled from a number of sources
- pauses with unclear possession
- info recreated moderately than reused
Contain underwriting, operations, compliance, and IT. Every sees totally different breakdowns.
2. Monitor metrics that reveal friction
You don’t want refined analytics to start out—simply consistency.
Helpful indicators embody:
- submission-to-quote time
- quote-to-bind ratio
- handbook touchpoints per coverage
- rework or correction charges
- submission hit ratio (quoted vs. acquired)
Begin by benchmarking towards your individual baseline, not the market.
3. Pay attention for friction indicators
Frontline groups, brokers, and carriers all expertise friction in another way. Repeated standing requests, correction cycles, or late knowledge are signs of course of and visibility gaps—not communication failures.
How know-how helps—when utilized accurately
As soon as friction is clearly recognized, know-how turns into a power multiplier moderately than a patch.
Efficient approaches share a couple of traits:
- Give attention to high-impact bottlenecks. Resolve issues that compound throughout groups and volumes.
- Standardize handoffs and definitions. Clearly outline what “prepared” means at every stage and who owns the following step.
- Cut back duplication earlier than automating. Automation magnifies no matter course of it touches—good or unhealthy.
- Use platforms and integrations to bolster self-discipline. Know-how ought to lock in enhancements, not substitute decision-making.
When utilized this fashion, know-how reduces cycle time, improves knowledge high quality, and permits MGAs to scale with out proportionally rising headcount.
Friction discount is a development technique
Operational friction isn’t simply an operational inconvenience—it’s a constraint on development.
MGAs that succeed long run are these that may:
- Transfer quicker with out dropping management
- Present dependable, well timed knowledge to companions
- Scale quantity with out scaling handbook effort
Know-how performs a central function in making that attainable—however solely after friction is known, measured, and prioritized.
Repair the method first. Then let know-how do what it does finest.
About Dyad
Dyad delivers software program and providers that powers fashionable insurance coverage processing and distribution. Click on right here to discover the options that Dyad has objective constructed for MGAs, wholesalers, and Program Directors.
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