When speed is the exception, not the rule

In insurance, speed has never been the norm. For decades, quoting a sizable account took days or weeks. The crazy part? Everyone accepted it. Underwriters expected submissions to come in messy, incomplete, and scattered across dozens of emails. Brokers expected back-and-forth delays while carriers hunted for missing information or waited for risk details to be rekeyed into their systems. Clients expected brokers to call with partial answers while the market kept processing.

Time was expensive, but it was treated like it was free.

Even now, too many MGAs still work this way. Submission arrives Monday, initial review happens Thursday, quotes come a week or two later (if everything goes smoothly). There’s always another system to check, another email to track down, another attachment somebody forgot to include, maybe even an authority trigger an underwriter missed. The industry has spent years living inside this timeline, which is why people think “fast” means shaving a few days off the process instead of rethinking what’s possible when underwriters actually have everything they need up front.

That’s where Upstage comes in. As the company behind AI Space, Upstage has spent the last five years building technology that gives MGAs a way out of these legacy timelines—without requiring massive system overhauls or multi-year IT projects.

MGAs don’t have to play by legacy timelines

Here’s the shift happening right now: MGAs have a unique opportunity to set the standard for speed while many larger carriers work through the realities of complex systems and scale. AI Space gives MGAs the advantage of moving quickly, processing information instantly, eliminating the back-and-forth, and responding to brokers before competitors even open the submission. It’s the benefit of being able to adopt technology without navigating the layers of legacy infrastructure that come with enterprise operations.

Every day, brokers are comparing your turnaround times to somebody else’s. By partnering with Upstage, MGAs have the chance to make those comparisons unfair. 

As a company focused on operational speed and accuracy across the insurance value chain, Upstage provides MGAs with more than just a tool—they gain a partner dedicated to helping them compete on time, trust, and broker relationships.

When process friction becomes business risk

The real slowdown isn’t just messy submissions. It’s the way the entire process has been stitched together over time. Legacy email chains. Old portals that don’t talk to each other. Manual checklists for every new account. Everyone assumes this is just how insurance works: collecting files, rekeying information, chasing down missing pieces.

That’s why timelines haven’t changed in decades. Every handoff, every manual step adds another day before underwriters can even start reviewing risk. AI Space cuts straight through that noise. 

How AI Space works—and what changes when MGAs adopt it

Consider a typical MGA handling middle market accounts. Today, submissions might sit for a week or more before all the files are organized, gaps are identified, and underwriters have what they need to start reviewing the risk. With AI Space, that timeline shrinks to a single day (or less), giving brokers faster answers and underwriters more time to focus on writing the right business. The operational shift is immediate:

• Day one instead of day ten: Submissions underwriters used to touch three or four times before quoting are ready for review the same day they arrive.
  
  
• One package instead of 25 attachments: ACORD apps, SOVs, loss runs, engineering reports—all in one place, organized and accurate.
  
  
• Proactive, not reactive: Underwriters can see missing information right away instead of discovering it halfway through the process.

It’s not just automation. AI Space is agentic, so it makes decisions about what to extract, how to categorize it, and how to prepare it for underwriting review without waiting for someone to click through every page.

The markets that move first win first

For years, carriers competed on price, appetite, and relationships. Speed was secondary because everyone moved slowly. That’s over.

Brokers now compare every MGA’s response times side by side. The one that delivers a complete quote first often wins (even if pricing is close) because brokers trust markets that move fast and get it right the first time.

Responsiveness isn’t just about speed. It’s about confidence. When underwriters have complete, accurate submissions the same day they arrive, they can deliver quotes without missing terms, inconsistent coverages, or follow-up emails asking for details that should’ve been there from the start. 

And with Upstage behind it, AI Space lets MGAs set that standard today. While larger carriers spend years modernizing legacy systems, MGAs can become the markets brokers call first simply by eliminating the delays everyone else has accepted as normal.

Redefining what fast really means

If consumers can use AI to draft a legal letter, plan a vacation, or analyze a spreadsheet in seconds, insurance submissions shouldn’t crawl through email chains and outdated systems for days. Speed should be table stakes. 

AI Space gives MGAs the technology advantage to set that pace while larger carriers try to catch up. It’s the chance to build a reputation as the market that delivers clear, accurate answers first, all before competitors even open the email.

It’s time to stop living inside legacy timelines and experience what fast really feels like. Book a demo or meet us at booth 834 at ITC.