Axis reins in MGA growth amid pricing discipline

Bermuda-based Axis Capital is not turning its back on managing general agents (MGAs) but is ensuring the economics make sense before committing, CEO Vince Tizzio (pictured) said.

“Since the charge back in December 2023 we have put in place a renewed underwriting strategy with respect to MGAs,” said Vincent Tizzio, Axis Capital’s president and CEO, during a Q2 earnings call. “Our organisation in the quarter had about 30% of the premium come from MGAs. It is a highly selective, highly disciplined strategy.”

MGAs accounted for about 14% of Axis’s North American business in Q2 2025, the region where the company has overhauled its approach most dramatically, Tizzio noted.

“We see a competitive use of MGAs under select circumstances,” he said. “We equally observe some of the challenges that they present in classes like cyber and in property, where often we’re not seeing commensurate pricing that we think is worthy of competing with.”

He made it clear that Axis won’t chase volume for its own sake and is steering clear of underpriced risks: “We have not competed on price in many instances and are willing to trade for bottom line over volume.

“We’re an underwriting organisation with a dedicated claims organisation and infrastructure to support our underwriters ... our strategy within MGAs is certainly bottom-line focused [with] alignment of interest,” Tizzio said, adding that the firm will continue to work with MGAs — but only when incentives are aligned and underwriting margins make sense.

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