Ahead of ITC & TMPAA Three Things – MGA Expansion & IPOs

Hi Friends!

Two of the biggest events of the year are upon us — ITC Vegas 2025 and the Target Markets Annual Summit. Both are always high-energy gatherings that showcase where the industry is headed. If you’ll be there, I’d love to connect — here are links to schedule time at ITC and for Target Markets. And if you’re joining us in Scottsdale, don’t miss our Happy Hour on Monday night — register here.

This week’s stories span fresh launches, shifting ownership, and another round of IPO headlines. Together, they demonstrate how the industry continues to evolve through new MGA platforms, capital market shifts, and specialized plays within insurance.

Let’s explore the Three Things We Learned this week:

 [1]

MGA Platforms Keep Expanding, Holdings Keep Shifting

The launches, sales, and acquisitions we saw this week underscore the continued dynamism of the MGA and specialty platform landscape. Penn-America announced the launch of a reinsurance-focused MGA, marking its first de novo platform expansion, following closely on the heels of its Sayata acquisition, which we covered earlier in September.

Meanwhile, White Mountains continued to shape its portfolio, agreeing to sell Bamboo Insurance to CVC, even as it deepens its other holdings, such as its recent stake in Distinguished Programs.

Elsewhere, Ambac took two big steps: closing the sale of its legacy financial guarantee business and acquiring ArmadaCare from SiriusPoint, backed by a long-term capacity partnership through 2030. These moves showcase the long-unfolding story of Ambac reinventing itself as a specialty insurance platform and how private capital continues to reshape MGA ownership.

 [2]

Latest IPOs Build, But With Caution

The steady flow of IPOs continues. This week, Ethos filed for its IPO, the latest in a string of insurers heading to the public markets. Meanwhile, Neptune Flood’s debut saw its stock jump in early trading, with hopes that it will stay on the upward track amid the calm tropical weather pattern. As Carrier Management framed it, revenues are surging at these companies. Still, aftermarket returns remain mixed, suggesting that investors are interested in the growth story but cautious about valuation and sustainability.

For the industry, the takeaway is clear: capital markets are open to insurance stories, but companies will need to demonstrate durability in performance if they want to avoid the “IPO pop and fade” phenomenon that has unfolded too often.

 [3]

Innovation, Capital, and Talent on the Move

The rest of this week’s headlines show how innovation and capital flows are reshaping the ecosystem. WTW launched a new parametric solution, further pushing specialty products into the mainstream. CyberCube raised fresh capital, reinforcing investor appetite for data and analytics plays that help underwrite emerging risks.

On the carrier side, Allstate announced executive changes, a reminder that leadership shakeups continue at the largest incumbents. And finally, mea, one of the AI underwriting automation platforms, hired a new COO from Markel — an interesting connection given Markel’s investment in mea that we reported last year. The throughline is that capital, talent, and innovation are aligning to push the next wave of insurance transformation.