Why Your Program Submission Doesn’t Get Traction (And How to Fix It)

After many years evaluating program submissions on the carrier side, it’s easy to see a critical gap causing MGA program rejections: incomplete carrier submissions. This article explains why certain submissions stall with carriers, what carriers actually need to approve programs, and how integrated design-to-placement services eliminate costly delays. 

MGA founders seeking program design partners should prioritize firms that understand carrier underwriting requirements and can translate program architecture into carrier-ready submissions.

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The Problem: Why Well-Designed Programs Stall at Carrier Placement

My View from Inside Carriers

For nearly two decades, I sat on the carrier side receiving program submissions from MGAs and program managers. The pattern was consistent and frustrating: submissions that didn't answer the questions carriers needed answered. MGAs would submit either incomplete submissions created by themselves (unfortunately struggling through the process without carrier-side training), submissions meant for reinsurers, or investor pitch decks (designed to raise capital, not secure carrier capacity).

The result? A time-consuming back-and-forth where I'd send these same set of questions to most program managers:

• Is this excess & surplus or admitted?

• What are your underwriting guidelines?

• What policy forms are you using? From where did you derive them?

• What does the rating structure look like? 

• What's the expected limits profile?

• What's the expected deductible profile?

And so on. . .you get the picture.

Why This Back-and-Forth Destroys Momentum

As a carrier underwriter with limited time and a lot of incoming business opportunities, incomplete submissions generally went to the bottom of the stack. The reality: carriers are looking at submissions thinking "there's something interesting here, but I really have to squeeze this lemon to get the juice out."

If it's too hard, they simply move on.

What Carriers Actually Need: The Gold Standard Submission

The Elements Every Carrier Wants to See

Based on receiving hundreds of submissions, here's what gets programs to the top of the stack:

Why This Documentation Matters

When a carrier receives a submission with all these elements pre-answered, the evaluation process speeds up dramatically. The receiving underwriter can socialize the submission and decisionmaking is accelerated. This is the gold standard we’ve created at Sproutr: Submissions where carriers say "this is a Sproutr submission—top of the stack, all questions answered.”

What Happens After Placement? The Critical First 90 Days

Even if an MGA successfully places their program, the first 90 days post-placement is where many programs can hit the wall operationally.

What MGAs face during this period:

• Systems integration challenges

• Bordereaux processing errors

• Premium transfer coordination issues

• Data flow problems between MGA and carrier platforms

• Trust account setup and flow

• Regulatory compliance 

What typically happens:

Once the MGA agreement is signed, the MGA turns all attention to binding business. Meanwhile, the carrier is glancing at a silent phone or empty inbox wondering 'what’s happening with our new program?' The bordereau is 5 days late, 10 days late, or the carrier can't ingest it in their system. The carrier and the MGA are equally motivated to get all post-launch steps right, but that’s not what happens for most new programs. The MGA is left alone to troubleshoot operational issues they've never encountered before, and the carrier is irritated because they wanted things to go more smoothly.

The 90-day capstone meeting

We convene all parties to ask:

• Is everything operating smoothly?

• Are bordereaux flowing on time and accurately?

• Are there data issues between systems?

• Is quoting hitting targets?

• Do rates need tweaking?

• Are additional endorsements needed?

• What are you seeing in the marketplace?

The result: Programs launch smoothly, carriers get the data they need, and MGAs focus on writing business instead of troubleshooting operational breakdowns.

The Integrated Approach: Why Design and Placement Should Be One Team

The Fragmentation Tax

Most MGAs piece together program development like this:

• A lawyer creates policy forms

• An actuary creates the pricing model

• A consultant might help the underwriters write underwriting guidelines

• A reinsurance broker is hired for placement

• And nobody owns the complete picture

This creates what one could call a fragmentation tax, which is the cost of coordinating multiple parties who don't communicate with each other and aren't accountable to each other.

The Sproutr Difference: Blueprint to Binding

When the same team that designs your program also helps places it with carriers, everything changes:

How to Evaluate Program Design Partners

Questions to Ask Insurance Program Design Firms

If you're an MGA founder evaluating program design partners, ask these questions:

Red Flags That Indicate Handoff Risk

Watch out for these:

Real-World Example: The Cost of Getting It Wrong

While working for a carrier, I cannot tell you how many times I had to ask MGAs to do this homework and then come back with a revised submission. Attempting to do this alone or partner with multiple consultants creates a tremendous amount of friction and zero accountability. The last thing you want is to be turned away. That’s the moment trust has eroded and when your success rate starts to decline. 

The Path Forward for MGA Founders

If you're building an insurance program, here's what you need to know:

1. Your pitch deck is not a carrier submission. Carriers need completely different documentation.

2. Until now, the only supported path to market was accomplished through reinsurance brokers. Reinsurance brokers are optimized for reinsurance placement when it is required; Sproutr complements the carrier placement while the need for reinsurance is confirmed.

3. The design-to-placement handoff is where most programs lose momentum. Fragmented services create fragmented results with no accountability. You need one partner to manage design end-to-end.

4. The first 90 days post-placement are critical. Without operational support during launch, programs fail even after successful placement.

5. Integrated design-to-placement services eliminate these risks. When one team owns the complete journey from blueprint to binding, programs move faster with far fewer surprises.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Sproutr help even if I already have a reinsurance broker?

Yes. We can create the carrier-ready submission documentation while your reinsurance broker handles reinsurance placement. We currently partner with reinsurance brokers—we're complementary, not competitive.

What if my program is still just an idea?

Perfect. Let’s talk. We can help you evaluate the readiness of your program and translate your business idea into a carrier-ready insurance product from day one, avoiding the costly mistakes that come from designing first and thinking about placement later.

How long does the typical insurance program placement process take?

With complete, carrier-ready submissions, we're seeing evaluation timelines of weeks instead of months. Without proper documentation, MGAs typically face 6+ months of back-and-forth delays.

What makes Sproutr different from other program design firms?

We're the only firm offering integrated design, placement, and post-launch support. Our team has carrier-side experience, we're compensated on program success (not hourly fees), and we don't disappear after placement. We are your partner, not a vendor. 

 What types of programs does Sproutr work with?

We work across all product lines and jurisdictions. Our expertise spans specialty lines, standard commercial, personal lines programs, and emerging risk categories.

Why I Joined Sproutr

When JoAnne Artesani recruited me to build Sproutr's Program Placement practice, I was absolutely excited. In my carrier role, I wished I had an expert to refer to MGAs. Someone who could help them create the carrier-ready submissions I needed to see. Someone who understood both the design side and the carrier-evaluation side. Sproutr is the gold standard for carrier submissions providing the complete technical documentation that makes carriers say yes quickly. We provide the best possible submission to go to market. Because it will pre-answer the questions that I know, from 25 years of experience, every carrier will ask. Sproutr is the solution I was looking for and I wanted to be a part of delivering that value to our industry. 

About the Author

Ed Skoch is Director of Programs and Placements at Sproutr, bringing 25 years of carrier-side and MGA-side underwriting and program evaluation experience. Prior to joining Sproutr, Ed spent his career on the inside of insurance carriers receiving and evaluating program submissions from MGAs and program managers. He has onboarded hundreds of MGA relationships and understands both what makes carriers approve programs and what causes them to decline or delay.

At Sproutr, Ed leads the firm's program placement practice, creating carrier-ready submissions and facilitating strategic carrier introductions and onboarding for MGA founders.