Research, field notes and training, from the operating layer.
Everything here comes from running distribution, not observing it: the quarterly market read, articles written for the brokers and operators we work with, and short video modules for producers.
Two markets wearing one headline
The data by line, why the conventional growth playbook breaks in a split market, and the operating model we build instead — with six exhibits, sources on every one, and the nine signals that would change the plan.
- −2.0% all-lines composite, Q2 2026 — the headline
- −6.3% / +5.3% property vs. umbrella in the same quarter — the split
- 91 vs 108.6 comp vs. auto liability combined ratio — why it persists
- 8 sections · 6 exhibits CIAB, Marsh, NCCI, AM Best, Guy Carpenter, WSIA
Articles and video.
Meet Cassie: an AI agent I built
An AI voice and chat agent for a specialty workers' comp program: she answers program questions, explains appetite and onboarding, routes calls, and connects agents and wholesalers — and what it took to trust her in production.
Read the article →The growth paradox: why scaling your MGA often breaks the engine that built it
The $100M GWP milestone is the North Star for most MGAs; the infrastructure underneath is the silent killer of it. What breaks first, and what to build before it does.
Read the article →The MGU technology decision: don't pay a consulting army to build what already exists
Two expensive mistakes — cheap technology that can't do the job, and powerful technology that needs an army to configure — and how to tell which one you are about to make.
Read the article →AI agents are powerful. But can you trust them in production?
Every company reaches the moment where the question changes from 'can we build an agent?' to 'can we let it talk to customers?' The approval architecture that answers it.
Read the article →
Retail Producer Growth OS
Identify → Diagnose → Strategize → De-risk → Win → Retain. Discovery to close for producers selling specialty programs to employers: recognizing the non-renewal or high-mod opening, qualifying it, and moving the account without losing the relationship.
Wholesale Distribution Growth OS
Recruit → Activate → Develop → Retain. The 90-day activation model for wholesale and program teams: how to onboard a retailer, get the first submission, develop repeat production, and protect the relationship.
Employer & Buyer Education
What a troubled workers' comp account actually has to do next: mods, audits, PEO vs. standalone, what a proposal means, how onboarding works. Short, forwardable, no jargon.
AI & Tools for Producers
Hands-on walkthroughs of the stack on the Stack page: building lists, running approved outreach, automating the scoreboard, using carrier and bureau intelligence.
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