Age of the MGA Podcast

S2E14 | The Insurance Industry Gets Captives Completely Wrong feat. Matthew Queen

Matthew Queen joins the Age of the MGA crew for one of the deepest operator conversations we’ve had on captives, alternative risk, claims accountability, and why MGA formation is often much closer to captive insurance than most people realize. Matthew breaks down how captives actually work operationally, why they change organizational behavior, and how claims visibility creates better operators. The conversation also dives into insurance regulation, the IRS, McCarran-Ferguson, founder networking, and how publishing expertise helped build authority in a highly specialized insurance niche. This episode is especially valuable for MGA founders, program operators, alternative risk builders, underwriting leaders, and anyone trying to understand how modern insurance structures actually get built. WHAT THIS EPISODE COVERS * Why captives and MGAs share the same operational foundations * How claims visibility changes company behavior * Why networking compounds founder opportunity * The real operational role of captives * Insurance regulation vs IRS interpretation * Why insurance is more decentralized than banking * Building authority through specialization and publishing * Alternative risk financing and program creation WHY THIS EPISODE MATTERS Most people talk about captives as tax structures. Matthew explains them as operating systems. This conversation reframes captives as a founder/operator tool that changes incentives, improves claims accountability, and creates tighter alignment between underwriting, operations, and risk ownership. For MGA builders, it also creates a clearer understanding of how program business, alternative risk, and insurance entrepreneurship overlap. GUEST INFORMATION Matthew Queen Insurtech Founder & Captive Insurance — Tricura Insurance Group LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/queenmatthew/ Website: https://tricurainsurance.com/ ABOUT AGE OF THE MGA Age of the MGA explores how modern MGAs, carriers, claims organizations, and insurance infrastructure businesses are actually being built. STAY CONNECTED & FOLLOW THE MOVEMENT Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. Follow Age of the MGA on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/age-of-the-mga/ CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS Doug Ver Mulm: https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasvermulm/ Dylan Brand: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanbrand/ Peter Tilbrook: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-tilbrook-50832336/ THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR Register for the Scout InsurTech Conference: https://www.scoutinsurtech.com/conference Save 10% with coupon code: Age of the MGA 2026 FINAL CHAPTERS 00:00 — Surprise Guest Introduction 05:00 — Matthew Queen’s Captive Insurance Background 12:00 — Why Captives and MGAs Are So Similar 23:00 — Networking, Publishing, and Founder Opportunity 28:00 — Writing the Captive Insurance Book 35:00 — Captives, Claims, and Operational Accountability 44:00 — Insurance Regulation, the IRS, and McCarran-Ferguson 50:00 — Why Insurance Is More Stable Than Banking 57:00 — Building Tricura Insurance Group 01:04:00 — Closing Discussion

S1E13 | Building Verde: ESG Data, Lloyd’s Capacity, and MGA Discipline feat. James Pallett

ESG has become one of the most loaded terms in business. Some hear it and think politics. Some hear it and think corporate window dressing. James Pallett hears something else entirely: A better way to underwrite risk. In this episode of Age of the MGA, James Pallett, Co-Founder of Verde Underwriting, joins Doug, Dylan, and Peter to unpack how Verde is building a specialty financial lines MGA around ESG data, Lloyd’s capacity, emerging risk, and disciplined underwriting. The key distinction: Verde is not using ESG as a marketing label. They are using it as a risk signal. James explains how ESG-related data can help reveal the quality of a company’s risk management, improve speed of decision, sharpen underwriting appetite, and prevent the broad-brush underwriting mistakes that often cause good risks to get missed. The conversation also gets into one of the most important topics for any MGA founder thinking beyond one market:  Lloyd’s coverholder status. WHAT THIS EPISODE COVERS - How Verde uses ESG data as an underwriting edge - Why ESG does not mean only writing “green” businesses - How better risk signals can lead to faster underwriting decisions - Why Lloyd’s coverholder status matters for global MGA growth - What makes the coverholder process valuable, complex, and time-consuming - How Verde is approaching emerging risks like digital assets, fraud, social engineering, and intangible asset protection - Why insurance can unlock capital, financing, and business growth - The founder story behind leaving established underwriting careers to build Verde There is also a valuable lesson here for founders: The best MGA businesses are rarely built around broad ambition alone. They are built around a sharp thesis. A specific market view. A clear underwriting advantage. And the discipline to say yes and no faster than everyone else. ABOUT THE GUEST James is the Co-Founder of Verde Underwriting, a Lloyd’s coverholder focused on specialty risk and financial lines. Verde was founded in 2023 by James Pallett and James Reynolds after they identified an opportunity to use ESG data as a genuine underwriting edge. The business focuses on complex and emerging risk areas, including financial lines, management liability, crime, fraud, digital assets, and intangible asset protection. CONNECT WITH JAMES James Pallett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-pallett-904809197/ STAY CONNECTED & FOLLOW THE MOVEMENT Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. Follow Age of the MGA on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/age-of-the-mga/ CONNECT WITH THE HOSTS Doug Ver Mulm: https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasvermulm/ Dylan Brand: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanbrand/ Peter Tilbrook: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-tilbrook-50832336/ THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR Register for the Scout InsurTech Conference: https://www.scoutinsurtech.com/conference Save 10% with coupon code: Age of the MGA 2026 This conversation is a useful look at how a modern specialty MGA can build around a clear underwriting thesis, a focused product strategy, and the right capacity infrastructure. Verde’s approach is a reminder that differentiation is not just about having a niche. It is about having a clear view of risk, the data to support that view, and the operating discipline to make better underwriting decisions. For MGA founders, operators, capacity partners, and brokers, this episode offers a practical look at what it takes to build a specialty insurance business with credibility, focus, and long-term staying power.

S2E12 | From Business Plan to Binder: What It Really Takes to Launch an MGA | feat. Sam Knee-Robinson

Sam Knee-Robinson experience spans across connecting insurance businesses, syndicates, MGAs, and emerging risk platforms with the capital and capacity they need to grow. In this conversation, he explains what actually happens behind the scenes when MGAs try to secure capacity, raise capital, and move from an idea into a real operating business. This episode is a serious conversation about one of the hardest parts of building an MGA: getting the structure, partners, credibility, and timing right before the market will trust you with capital. Sam walks through how capacity conversations work, why personal trust and track record still matter, how incubator platforms are changing the path for early-stage MGAs, and why a softening market creates both opportunity and pressure. What this episode covers: ✅ Why capital follows trust, track record, and credible execution ✅ Why starting an MGA requires both niche expertise and insurance fluency ✅ The hidden operational friction between a business plan and a live binder ✅ Why incubators, platforms, and accelerators are becoming more important ✅ How a softening market changes the opportunity set for new MGAs ✅ Why weak execution gets exposed faster when market tailwinds fade ✅ How stronger partner alignment can make MGA relationships more durable For serious MGA founders, operators, investors, and ecosystem partners, this episode matters because it gets underneath the idea of “launching an MGA.” The real work is not just writing a business plan or finding someone willing to back an idea. It is proving that the team, underwriting thesis, infrastructure, capacity strategy, and partner structure can hold up in the real world. About the Guest Sam Robinson works in Global Capital Solutions arena, with a focus on Lloyd’s capital, emerging risk solutions, and capacity support for MGAs and related insurance platforms. His work sits at the intersection of capital, reinsurance, market structure, and early-stage insurance business building. Connect with Sam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-knee-robinson/ 🔗 Stay Connected & Follow the Movement: 🎧 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube 📲 Follow Age of the MGA on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/age-of-the-mga/ 🧠 Connect with the Hosts: Doug Ver Mulm https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasvermulm/ Dylan Brand https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanbrand/ Peter Tilbrook https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-tilbrook-50832336/ Thank you to our sponsor: Register for the Scout Insurtech Conference at https://www.scoutinsurtech.com/conference and save 10% with coupon code Age of the MGA 2026 The Age of the MGA exists to document how this market is actually being built. Not the theory. Not the press release version. The real decisions, constraints, tradeoffs, and lessons that determine which MGAs endure.

S2E11 | Why the Best MGAs Will Survive the Soft Market feat. Joe Zuk, Altamont Capital Partners

Joe Zuk is one of the most respected operators and investors in the MGA ecosystem.  As Operating Partner at Altamont Capital Partners, he sits at the intersection of capital, execution, talent, and platform building across insurance and insurance services.  In this conversation, he shares what actually separates durable MGAs from businesses that only looked good when the market was doing the work for them. This episode is a serious conversation about what really matters when you are building, backing, or scaling MGAs:  claims discipline, underwriting feedback loops, founder quality, patient capital, and the reality of operating through a changing market cycle.  It is not theory.  It is a clear look at how good MGA businesses get built and how weak ones eventually get exposed. What this episode covers: ✅ Why claims are the battlefield where an MGA’s underwriting thesis gets validated or exposed ✅ What Joe looks for in teams, conviction, and execution when evaluating opportunities ✅ Why the soft market will reward disciplined MGAs and expose weaker operators ✅ What founder-first capital actually looks like in insurance ✅ Why entrepreneurship in this industry is rewarding, but not for everyone ✅ How AI could improve claims handling, coverage analysis, and underwriting feedback loops ✅ Why insurance is still one of the best industries for curious, ambitious builders For serious MGA founders, operators, investors, and ecosystem partners, this episode matters because it connects the pieces that actually drive outcomes.  Joe does not talk about growth in the abstract.  He talks about how underwriting, claims, capital, talent, and timing interact in the real world, and why discipline matters more when tailwinds start to fade. About the Guest Joe Zuk is an Operating Partner at Altamont Capital Partners, where he focuses on corporate and business development across the firm’s property and casualty insurance portfolio.  Before Altamont, he served as Managing Director of Corporate Development & Strategy at Orchid Underwriters and previously led corporate development and strategy work at Atlas General, where he also helped build out property and commercial divisions. Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joezuk/ 🔗 Stay Connected & Follow the Movement: 🎧 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube 📲 Follow Age of the MGA on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/age-of-the-mga/ 🧠 Connect with the Hosts: Doug Ver Mulm https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasvermulm/ Dylan Brand https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanbrand/ Peter Tilbrook https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-tilbrook-50832336/ Thank you to our sponsor:  Register for the Scout Insurtech Conference at https://www.scoutinsurtech.com/conference  and save 10% with coupon code Age of the MGA 2026

Why MGAs Build What Generalist Brokers Can’t | S2E10 | Andrew Bate, Co-Founder & CEO of Velaris

Andrew Bate joins Age of the MGA for a conversation about claims, specialization, and what it actually takes to build insurance around real business needs. This is a practical discussion about customer pain, niche program design, distribution constraints, and why MGAs can often build solutions that generalist brokers cannot. It is also a conversation shaped by Andrew’s experience at Safely and his current work with Velaris Insurance, where the focus is purpose-built coverage for professional property managers. What This Episode Covers ✅ Why Andrew originally underestimated how hard insurance program building really is ✅ How slow claims can become a customer problem, not just an operations problem ✅ Why claims handling is often part of the actual product experience ✅ Why generalist brokers often hear the same pain repeatedly but cannot build around it ✅ How MGAs can create purpose-built programs for specialized industries ✅ Why embedded distribution still runs into an education and prioritization problem ✅ Why the best insurance products start with business needs, not stale policy logic Why This Matters for MGAs If you are building, operating, or investing in MGAs, this episode is powerful because it gets to the real work underneath product and distribution. It is a conversation about solving actual business problems, not just placing coverage, and it shows where MGA value creation really starts when the market has repeated unmet needs. About the Guest Andrew Bate is an insurance founder and operator whose work has focused on specialized coverage for the vacation rental and property management market. Formerly with Safely and now building Velaris Insurance, Andrew brings a practical perspective on claims, specialization, product design, and what it takes to create insurance programs that better match real customer needs. Velaris positions itself as a single coverage program built for professional property managers. Website:  https://velarisinsurance.com/ Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aebate/ 🔗 Stay Connected & Follow the Movement: 🎧 Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube 📲 Follow Age of the MGA on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/age-of-the-mga/ 🧠 Connect with the Hosts: Doug Ver Mulm https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglasvermulm/ Dylan Brand https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanbrand/ Peter Tilbrook https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-tilbrook-50832336/ Thank you to our sponsor: Register for the Scout Insurtech Conference at https://www.scoutinsurtech.com/conference and Save 10% with our coupon code "Age of the MGA 2026" Chapters: 00:00 Intro 11:30 Andrew on underestimating insurance complexity 21:05 Why claims speed changed the customer experience 24:55 Solving the customer problem before formalizing the system 33:30 Why MGAs can build what generalist brokers cannot 38:20 Embedded distribution and the education bottleneck 51:45 Building insurance around the business need This podcast exists to help MGA builders think more clearly about what actually works, what breaks, and what it really takes to build durable businesses in this market.