Frank Perkins, Founder & CEO: inari: Building the modern MGA (395)

InsTech - insurance & innovation with Matthew Grant & Robin Merttens

InsTech

Entrepreneurship, Business, Investing

4.9 • 51 Ratings

🗓️ 22 February 2026

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Robin Merttens sits down with Frank Perkins, CEO and Co-founder of inari, to explore what it really takes to build and scale a modern MGA in 2026. From founding an insurance business himself to leading a technology company serving specialist MGAs across Europe, Frank brings a rare dual perspective. He understands both the pressure of getting premium through the door and the responsibility of building systems that underwriters actually want to use. As private equity capital accelerates into the sector and niche, digital-first MGAs proliferate across continental Europe, the conversation turns to speed, integration and the quiet evolution of the underwriting workbench. In this conversation, Frank shares: Why technology literacy is now firmly in the hands of business users, not just IT departments How the rise of highly specialised MGAs is reshaping what underwriting platforms need to deliver Why “rip and replace” transformation programmes are giving way to orchestration and coexistence How AI is materially accelerating integrations and onboarding, cutting rollout times from months to days The difference between generic AI tooling and insurance-specific intelligence Why speed of execution is becoming a defining competitive advantage What a tightening market cycle will mean for operational efficiency Why continental Europe may offer the next major growth wave for MGAs How culture and domain expertise can matter as much as code in a crowded market If you like what you’re hearing, please leave us a review on whichever platform you use or contact Robin Merttens on LinkedIn. Sign up to the InsTech newsletter for a fresh view on the world every Wednesday morning.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, welcome or welcome back to the Instech podcast.
0:13.7	Zoya here, and this week Robin is joined by Frank Perkins, CEO and co-founder of Inari.
0:20.8	It's a fascinating moment for MGAs.
0:23.4	Europe is seeing a surge of startups and AI is accelerating everything.
0:28.5	Underwriting platforms are also no longer just systems of record that are becoming orchestration
0:32.9	engines at the centre of a fast-moving ecosystem.
0:36.4	Frank has been building Inari since 2017,
0:39.3	and as a former MGA founder himself, he brings a rare mix of technical depths and real-world
0:45.0	insurance experience. In this episode, he shares why today's business users are driving technology
0:50.3	decisions, how specialist MGAs are reshaping the market, and why ripping out legacy
0:55.4	systems might not be the answer. We also get into AI, beyond the hype, and how do you
1:01.3	integrate faster, broad out in days, not years, and what does an amicable platform really
1:06.6	mean in 2026? If we're entering a golden age of MGAs, especially in continental Europe,
1:12.6	what does that mean for consolidation, private equity and the next wave of innovation?
1:17.0	Pull yourself a coffee and enjoy the conversation.
1:25.3	My guest today on the InterTech podcast is Frank Perkins. He's the CEO and co-founder of Inari.
1:32.6	Frank, welcome. Good morning. How are you doing? Well, I'm here today to find out how you're doing.
1:37.0	You founded Inari with your co-founders back in 2017. For those who don't know, just fill us in. What's in Ari doing these days?
1:46.5	Basically, we are an underrating workbench, focusing on the small to mid-sized MGA market,
1:53.1	specialty market, primarily in Europe, although we have some clients in Asia and the States.
1:58.3	And what we're up to these days is expanding. It's a very exciting time for us.
2:02.1	The world is changing fast and AI is now a big influence. What's different about what you do now in
	...

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