Turning Risk Into a Business: MGAs Reshaping Insurance

In this episode of Crushing It, Jonathan Trimble speaks with Somil Jain, a credentialed actuary, Wharton MBA, and longtime advisor to insurance carriers and insurtech founders. With more than 25 years of experience, Somil operates at the intersection of analytics, pricing, capacity, and entrepreneurship, helping founders turn complex risk into scalable insurance businesses.

They explore why the U.S. insurance market is not a single system but effectively 55 state-regulated markets—and how that structure creates opportunity. Somil breaks down the rise of Managing General Agents (MGAs), explaining how the model allows startups to innovate without the massive capital requirements of launching a full insurance carrier, particularly through excess and surplus lines.

The conversation then turns to one of the industry’s hardest challenges: pricing risk without historical data. From cyber insurance and post-COVID inflation to clean energy and autonomous vehicles, Somil explains why traditional models break down and how insurers must rely on creativity, proxy data, and tighter risk boundaries to move forward.

Finally, Jonathan and Somil examine AI’s dual role in insurance—as both a powerful tool and an emerging risk. Somil cautions against treating AI as a final answer rather than decision support, while highlighting opportunities for innovation in overlooked markets where deep risk understanding, not scale alone, creates advantage.