Last month, our topic about the market softening struck a chord among specialty underwriters. I received emails that many industry programs have not yet seen price reductions. Our point was that they will soon. It just takes a while for insurers to identify what the reinsurance savings means to individual accounts. But it is coming.
After the benefit of an atypical 6 year hard market, many MGAs and specialty intermediaries have grown accustomed to a steady flow of submissions, limited competition, and frankly, a minimal need for proactive marketing. That environment is changing.
Reinsurance pricing pressure is easing. Capacity is returning. Brokers are gaining options. And when brokers have options, behavior changes.
They shop more. They compare more. And they rely more heavily on the markets they recognize, trust, and remember, especially those that were helpful when options were limited.
Your marketing efforts need to remind brokers and insureds that you’re still available, open for business, and why they should choose you.
Where to Start: Inbound or Outbound Marketing?
Many intermediaries think of marketing as a choice between inbound or outbound marketing.
It isn’t.
Inbound marketing involves your website, search visibility, content, and referrals, and captures brokers who are already looking for you. Intermediaries who addressed these inherently reactive tactics while hard market demand was high, are ahead of the curve as these are critical tactics.
Outbound marketing which includes email, LinkedIn outreach, Google AdWords, programmatic advertising, and retargeting, creates and maintains awareness and introduces your program to brokers before they need you.
The most successful intermediaries will not choose between the two but rather combine them.
Outbound to drive brokers to digital assets (website or landing pages, content, resources, calendars, etc). Inbound assets validate your expertise and make it easy to submit. Together, they create familiarity before the first conversation ever takes place.
We explored this concept in more detail in our blog on inbound vs. outbound marketing, and it’s worth revisiting as market conditions evolve.
The Zero-Click Search Reality
One of the biggest shifts impacting Inbound marketing today is the rise of Zero-Click Search. 40% of searches now result in no website visit at all and this trend is only growing.
That means you could have invested in SEO, identified the right search terms, but a broker (or insured) can search for your exact product but only review the AI summary of that search. Unless your website is optimized for AEO and GEO search, you’ll be invisible.
This doesn’t indicate a lack of interest. It reflects a change in how information is distributed and consumed.
The implication is significant: Traditional SEO, while still important, is no longer enough on its own. Here is a great article on zero-click search.
Staying Visible Without the Click
To address this shift, MGAs and insurance marketers need to think beyond search rankings and focus on search visibility over time.
Search Retargeting allows you to identify users based on the terms they search and continue to reach them with relevant messaging across the web, regardless of whether they clicked your site.
In practice, this means:
- A broker searches for a specific industry or LOB in a specific state
- They review results but don’t click
- Your program remains visible through targeted digital ads immediately thereafter
Instead of relying on a single moment of engagement, retargeting enables you to create a sustained presence and awareness that leads to trial and engagement.
In a market where brokers are evaluating more options, this persistence becomes a competitive advantage.
Introducing MGA Producer
At Target Markets in April, Vertibrands officially launched MGA Producer, a custom agentic AI business development platform built specifically for insurance providers including direct and brokered intermediaries.
The early response has been strong, with more than 10 instances in development with the first month.
MGA Producer was designed to solve a familiar challenge: identifying and engaging potential insureds as well as the right producers to build a pipeline of opportunities.
It leverages Vertibrands’ IMX dataset of more than 350,000 agents and brokers and combines it with AI-driven workflows to support:
- Target identification based on class, size and relevance
- Broker and agency research
- Structured outreach
- Pipeline tracking
- Meeting preparation and follow-up
This is not just a prospecting tool. It is a system designed to support repeatable, scalable distribution growth with a 24/7 AI sales assistant.
LinkedIn for Business Development
A key component of MGA Producer is the structured use of LinkedIn.
For many MGAs, LinkedIn activity is inconsistent, where connections are made without a clear strategy, outreach is sporadic, and follow-up is limited. That approach just doesn’t scale.
LinkedIn has evolved into a primary channel where brokers:
- Validate who you are
- Observe your activity and posts
- Decide whether to engage
MGA Producer integrates LinkedIn into a broader workflow, guiding who to connect with, how to engage, and when to follow up.
In many ways, it positions LinkedIn as the counterpart to Outlook for email communications. a core component of a structured business development system, rather than an isolated activity.
What We’re Seeing Across the Market
As conditions shift, patterns are emerging.
Brokers are becoming more selective. They are revisiting past relationships and exploring alternatives. Programs that have not maintained visibility or had obstacles in the past are finding it difficult to re-enter conversations.
At the same time, intermediaries that have invested in:
- Consistent outreach
- Clear positioning
- Digital visibility
- Structured follow-up
are gaining traction earlier in the cycle.
Your Takeaway
So no, the market is not fully soft, but it is moving in that direction. The intermediaries that respond to insureds and their agents early will be better positioned to:
- Retain quality business
- Attract better-fit submissions
- Build stronger, broker networks
That requires a shift in approach.
- From passive to proactive
- From isolated tactics to integrated approaches
- From visibility by chance to visibility by design
Let’s Discuss
If you’re evaluating how your current marketing and business development strategy aligns with where the market is heading, or if you’d like to see how MGA Producer and IMX support these efforts, we’d welcome the conversation.
Schedule time here: https://www.calendly.com/rlook
Richard Look
President & Chief Strategist, Vertibrands
m. 610-322-3702
