Insurance Insider has recently documented the challenges of the private equity-backed broking model in today’s market – but what are the alternatives?

According to Paul Greensmith, international CEO at HW Kaufman, the firm’s family ownership structure brings unique advantages and long-term stability.

Speaking to Behind the Headlines, he explained that HW Kaufman’s international unit continued to expand significantly, with new MGA launches in the pipeline.

However, he said that previous thoughts around launching a Lloyd’s syndicate were no longer top of the agenda for the business.

He also explained the findings of Burns & Wilcox’s recent FastForward report.

MGAs have boomed in recent years, but is the sector still buoyant as the market cycle shifts?

According to John Cavanagh of Octave, the sector remains ripe for opportunity, and is becoming ever more sophisticated.

He tells Behind the Headlines that the wave of entrepreneurialism that MGAs have unleashed in the insurance sector resembles the Big Bang that shook up the City of London in the eighties.

And in this episode’s news discussion, Insurance Insider’s Rebecca Perkins provides her insight from the recent Baden Baden reinsurance meeting.