Scout InsurTech Interview with Graham Topol and Michael Topol

Graham Topol and Michael Topol are Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of MGT Insurance, where they are rethinking how specialty insurance programs are built and scaled through data-driven underwriting and a modern operating model. Graham and Michael were interviewed by Andrew Daniels, co-founder at Scout InsurTech and Co-Founder and President at CrashBay.

You have described insurance as a social and economic good that underpins small business risk-taking in the United States. How does that perspective shape the way you design products and make underwriting decisions for small commercial customers?

Graham Topol: There are roughly 35 million small businesses in the United States, and when you think about what those businesses mean to local communities, the impact is very real. Almost everywhere you grew up, there was a Main Street with a post office, a hardware store, a grocery store, a real estate office and an insurance agent. These businesses form the economic and social fabric of towns and cities across the country.

Insurance plays a critical role in that ecosystem. People do not take the risk to start or expand a business without the confidence that they will be protected if something goes wrong that is outside of their control. Whether it is a laundromat started by a recent immigrant in Los Angeles, a grocery store passed down through generations in Nebraska or a nail salon opening in Atlanta, insurance provides the peace of mind that allows entrepreneurship to happen. It is the mechanism that helps people protect their livelihoods, their employees and their communities when loss occurs.

Because we focus exclusively on small businesses, that mission is very tangible for us. It directly influences how we think about product design and underwriting. One size fits all coverage does not work for small businesses, yet it remains common in the industry, particularly among legacy carriers. A laundromat does not have the same risks as a hardware store, and neither looks like a bakery or a grocery store. We believe you have to truly understand your customer, what outcomes matter to them and what coverages actually make a difference in their day-to-day operations.

We also think about the reality that small business owners are not in the business of buying insurance. They are bakers, shop owners and service providers who want to focus on running their businesses. That means our responsibility is to make the process fast, simple and seamless so they can spend their time doing what they do best while we focus on protecting them.

Many insurance startups today are essentially wrappers around foundation models, while you chose to build a full-stack carrier. What have you learned about where artificial intelligence creates real advantage when you own the balance sheet, licenses and products?

Michael Topol: Speed matters enormously in small commercial insurance, and that is where AI can create meaningful advantage when it is deeply integrated into the business. Small business owners do not want to wait days or weeks for an answer. By owning the full stack, including the balance sheet, licenses and filed products, we can identify the right use cases for AI and implement them in ways that directly improve outcomes.

For example, we can analyze thousands of data points on a single risk in real time, which allows us to underwrite at a much more granular level and return a quote in minutes rather than hours or days. That is a better experience for customers and brokers, and it is also a better business model for us because it drives efficiency at scale.

We see a disconnect with many AI wrappers in insurance. They are often built to be sold to carriers rather than to solve the carrier’s actual operational problems. Without control of the product, license or balance sheet, it becomes very difficult to drive adoption, integrate deeply into workflows or align incentives. Owning the full stack gives us an advantage in implementation, culture and data applicability.

As a result, we are seeing AI create value across the entire organization, from managing distribution partners and gathering underwriting data to auditing policies, ensuring guideline compliance and improving customer service. Many of these technologies exist in other industries and have for years, but insurance has been slow to adopt them. Being a full-stack carrier allows us to move faster and apply these tools where they actually matter.

Small businesses often receive standardized coverage. How do you see AI and data changing the ability to deliver truly bespoke coverage at small premium levels, and what needs to happen for that approach to scale?

Graham: Data is the foundation. No two small businesses are the same, even within the same industry. Two bakeries in different locations can have very different risk profiles, exposures and coverage needs. The better your data quality and models, the more granular you can be in tailoring coverage to those differences.

At MGT, we are constantly evaluating new data sources that are compliant with our filings and regulatory requirements, with the goal of better serving customers rather than simply declining risks that fall outside rigid criteria. With better data, it becomes possible to price risk appropriately and offer coverage where it is needed, even in cases where traditional underwriting approaches might say no.

This is another area where being a full-stack carrier matters. When models improve or data sources evolve, that becomes a benefit rather than a disruption. It is similar to having a workforce that continually receives better training. In contrast, AI wrappers can face existential challenges when models change because their business models are tied to selling tools rather than underwriting outcomes.

There is also a cultural component. Delivering bespoke coverage at scale requires alignment between technology, underwriting expertise and operational workflows. You have to use data to move faster internally while also translating those insights into clearer, better solutions for brokers, agents and policyholders. That constant iteration is much easier when everything is integrated within one organization.

What does a truly modern experience look like for brokers and small business policyholders, and where do you see the biggest gaps today?

Michael: Compared with consumer technology, insurance remains far behind. Even much of banking and financial services lags consumer experiences by more than a decade, and insurance often feels stuck even further back. A modern experience comes down to three things: speed, ease and transparency.

Too often, underwriting is opaque and slow. Brokers may spend hours filling out forms, wait weeks for an answer and then receive a declination that could have been delivered immediately. That is frustrating and inefficient for everyone involved.

We try to solve those problems with simple, practical tools. One example is an AI-powered appetite agent on our website that allows brokers to quickly determine whether we write a particular type of business in a specific location. Instead of waiting weeks to hear no, they get an immediate, clear answer.

Across the industry, transparency remains a major gap. Insurance is still one of the least transparent transactions most people experience, even for those who work in the industry. When customers do not understand what is covered or why certain factors affect pricing, it leads to confusion and mistrust. Making insurance faster, easier and more transparent is central to creating a truly modern experience that feels more like consumer technology than a legacy financial product.

How do you expect the roles of carriers, MGAs and technology vendors to evolve over the next five to ten years in driving innovation in commercial property and casualty insurance?

Graham: Over the past decade and a half, the industry has seen significant disintermediation, with different parts of the insurance value chain split apart. MGAs emerged to address specialization and to move faster than traditional carriers, while technology vendors attempted to sell innovation into the industry from the outside. In many cases, that created misaligned incentives and outcomes that fell short of expectations.

We believe the industry is now moving toward reintegration. When underwriting expertise, technology, licensing and risk-bearing sit together, the market becomes more efficient and customers benefit. As AI becomes a more powerful tool, carriers will need to build and own more of their workflows internally rather than relying exclusively on external vendors.

MGAs will continue to exist, particularly in niche underwriting areas where specialization makes sense. However, the venture-backed explosion of broadly focused MGAs is likely to slow. We expect to see more full-stack carriers emerge that combine insurance expertise with deeply integrated technology and AI capabilities.

Distribution is not going away. Brokers and agents will remain essential, and carriers will continue to play a central role. What will change is how these participants work together. As the broader economy evolves, insurance must evolve with it, staying focused on solving real problems for small businesses, brokers and agents. That customer obsession is what will ultimately drive meaningful innovation.

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