Balavant Insurance Group CEO Rekha Skantharaja (pictured) is focused on building a technology foundation designed to support speed, flexibility, and stronger underwriting decisions. The goal is not simply adopting new tools, but creating a tech-enabled MGA platform capable of evolving as technology changes.
For Skantharaja, that means designing a system architecture that allows the business to adapt quickly without disrupting underwriting operations. “We are launching Balavant, and a pivotal aspiration I’m trying to drive into actualization is truly being a tech-enabled MGA platform,” she said. “What that means to us is creating a world-class tech stack that has the ability to iterate very quickly.”
A key lesson, she said, is that technology stacks rarely stay relevant for long. Systems that appear cutting-edge today can quickly become outdated, forcing organizations to rethink how they structure their platforms. Rather than committing to a single long-term system, Balavant is prioritizing modularity so components can be replaced or upgraded as technology evolves. “I am learning that as soon as you nail down a tech stack, it becomes obsolete,” Skantharaja said. “The question is: how do you continue to create nimbleness and agility that allows you to switch out pieces?”
That philosophy also shapes the company’s approach to building versus buying technology. Most systems will be sourced from external vendors, while internal development will focus on areas that directly improve underwriting performance and competitive positioning. Commodity infrastructure such as accounting platforms or rate-quote-bind systems are not viewed as sources of differentiation. “Building a premium finance system, or building a rate-quote-bind system, or building a workbench or an accounting system - those are not the things that make a world-class MGA,” she said. “The things we want to build that demonstrates our value to our capacity partners and distribution, are initiatives around risk selection and pricing accuracy.”
Automation will play a central role in that architecture. Workflow tools and integrations are intended to handle routine tasks behind the scenes so underwriters can increasingly focus more energy on complex risk analysis rather than administrative work. Ideally, the technology operates largely in the background while the underwriting experience becomes simpler and more efficient. “If we do this correctly, we remove friction through workflow automation - and make it easier than ever before for our underwriters to operate in the Balavant environment,” Skantharaja said.
Introducing new systems becomes significantly more complicated when multiple businesses share the same infrastructure. Balavant’s platform is being built for flexibility and scale. “We are not just talking about one MGA,” Skantharaja said. “We are talking about three MGAs and a reinsurance intermediary today, and the potential to add more in 2026 and beyond.”
That scale requires careful implementation because operational changes cannot interrupt underwriting activity. As she put it, organizations introducing new technology are often “trying to rewire the circuitry of the plane while continuing to fly it.” One lesson the company has learned is the importance of involving business teams early in development so operational leaders help define requirements and priorities before systems are built. “The technologists should not lead the initiatives,” Skantharaja said. “The technologists should support initiatives that are being guided through thought leadership, requirements, and scoping by the business leaders.”
The company has also moved away from searching for a single enterprise platform capable of running the entire operation. Instead, Balavant expects to operate a collection of specialized tools connected through integrations and shared workflows. “Ten or 15 years ago, we embarked on a journey of trying to find an enterprise solution,” she said. “I think we’ve grown up since then and realized there is no one-size-fits-all.” Incremental implementation is now the preferred approach, starting with pilots within individual programs or business units before broader rollout.
Selecting the right technology partners has become another challenge as the insurtech ecosystem continues to expand. Industry conferences increasingly feature more software vendors than program partners, creating a crowded marketplace for MGAs evaluating solutions. “There is a sea of technology, and more is coming online every day.” Skantharaja said.
Because Balavant operates with a relatively small internal technology team, partnerships play a central role in evaluating and implementing new tools. The company assesses vendors based on three primary criteria: whether the technology clearly delivers business value, whether it integrates effectively with existing systems, and whether the provider understands the MGA ecosystem. “The technology has to have undeniable value in our MGA business,” she said. “If there’s any question - if we only like parts of it or if we lack clarity on how this will provide lift - we’re not going to move forward.”
Integration is particularly critical because the organization is building what Skantharaja describes as a federation of technologies rather than a single monolithic system. Just as important is domain expertise. “We will not work with any technology partner that does not have domain expertise,” she said. “They need to understand how MGAs fit into the insurance ecosystem, and how brokers, carriers, and multiple constituents need to interact with us.”
Despite the industry’s growing investment in digital transformation, Skantharaja believes many organizations are still focused primarily on improving operational efficiency. “In full transparency , we are still in the weeds of creating a great tech stack that can support our ambitious growth plans and make life better for our underwriting teams,” she said.
Those improvements are quickly becoming table stakes across the industry. The next stage of transformation, she argued, will depend on organizations’ ability to generate proprietary insights through data and analytics. “That will become table stakes as MGAs look to differentiate ourselves and defend the model,” Skantharaja said. “I think a lot of CEOs, whether they want to admit it or not, have yet to reach the aspirational piece.”
That aspiration is the ability to develop insights competitors cannot easily replicate. “That aspirational piece is moving from efficiency to insights - real insights that are proprietary and distinct, and that become your competitive advantage,” she said. “That’s the summit we’re all climbing toward.”
