Carrier
The insurer bears the insurance risk under the policy. Identify the legal insurer, not just a program brand.
Read about carriersInsurance market guide
Managing General Underwriter.
A managing general underwriter generally performs delegated underwriting functions for an insurer or risk-bearing entity. The title often emphasizes underwriting responsibility, but the controlling agreement determines whether the MGU may quote, bind, issue, collect premium, or handle claims.
Transaction role
Follow the function, not the label.
The MGU evaluates and may accept risks for a carrier within the program's delegated authority and referral rules.
Confirm the responsibility
Ask who can quote, who can bind, who issues the policy and who handles service. Those responsibilities depend on the specific agreement and program, not just the company label.
Practical broker checklist
Working with a specialist underwriting program
- Present the operations and exposure detail the program underwriter needs to evaluate the account.
- Identify the insurer supplying capacity and ask whether the request falls inside the MGU's delegated limits.
- Clarify referral, quote validity, binding and document issuance responsibilities before presenting an option to the client.
An illustrative account
An account requests a limit above a program's normal range. An MGU may evaluate the submission but still need capacity-provider approval. The underwriting discussion is useful progress, but it is not a quote or authorization to bind.
This is a hypothetical preparation example, not an actual placement or a promise of coverage.
Compare the related managing general agent roleThe roles in one placement
Who does what?
MGA or MGU
A delegated underwriting business may evaluate and accept accounts within the insurer's agreed authority. The labels overlap; the agreement determines the scope.
Read about MGAsRead about MGUsWholesale broker
The intermediary helps the retail agent prepare and place the account with an underwriting market. A brokerage role alone does not confer underwriting authority.
Read about wholesale brokersEvidence
Signals worth verifying.
Authority signals
- Identified risk-bearing entity
- Documented delegated underwriting authority
- Program-specific limits and referrals
- Operational quote, bind, and issuance controls
Access questions
- Who ultimately bears the risk?
- Which decisions may the MGU make without carrier referral?
- Which product, class, state, and limit boundaries apply?
- Can Hedge submit directly to this underwriting desk?
False confidence
What does not prove access.
- A job title containing underwriter
- Access to another program
- Historical capacity without current confirmation
- A quote request route that does not authorize binding
Primary reference: WSIA wholesale market definitions
Next action
Discuss the account with Hedge.
Start with the operations, location, requested coverage and the facts making placement difficult. Check appetite or send the account through Hedge's secure submission process for review.