SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

SSP UK & Ireland has joined the Managing General Agents’ Association and launched Pure Product Studio, an AI-based product configuration platform. The moves mark an early step in the software provider’s revised focus on the MGA market.

The new platform is aimed at managing general agents and insurers seeking to bring insurance products to market more quickly. It uses agentic AI to create production-ready product configurations from a plain-English description, including screens, business rules and lists.

SSP said product launch cycles that typically take three to six months can now be completed in days. The platform is intended for underwriting, product and claims teams, rather than relying solely on specialist technology staff.

According to SSP, the system also includes product lifecycle management and automated test coverage. It is designed for MGAs and insurers operating across more than one jurisdiction and multiple product lines, including businesses with relatively small IT teams.

The twin announcement follows a restructure at SSP UK & Ireland that has placed greater emphasis on the MGA segment. That part of the insurance market has drawn growing attention from technology suppliers as MGAs look for faster ways to launch and amend products.

Martyn Mathews, managing director of SSP UK & I, linked the association membership and product launch to that strategy.

“Our membership of the MGAA and the launch of Pure Product Studio are early signals of our intention to build a strong portfolio of MGA clients. Our restructure has given us fresh capability to support this market and to give MGAs the technology they need to innovate faster and compete more effectively,” Mathews said.

MGA focus

Membership of the MGAA gives SSP a formal position within the trade body representing the UK’s managing general agent sector. The group has become a focal point for insurers, service providers and specialist underwriting businesses as the MGA model has expanded across commercial and personal lines.

For software suppliers, the market presents demand for systems that can handle product changes, distribution management and claims administration without long development cycles. SSP said its platform is intended to reduce the time, cost and specialist resource usually needed to launch and maintain insurance products.

Bal Badhan, director of rating and pricing at SSP UK & Ireland, said the company sees that need as central to its approach.

“Joining the MGAA reflects our continued commitment to supporting the MGA community with technology that helps businesses innovate and respond faster to market opportunities. With solutions such as Pure Product Studio, we are enabling insurers and MGAs to reduce the time, cost and specialist resource traditionally required to launch and manage insurance products, while maintaining the governance and control the market demands,” Badhan said.

Wider group

SSP operates as a software supplier to the insurance sector and says it works with more than 700 insurance clients across six continents and more than 40 classes of business. In the UK and Ireland, its systems are used by brokers and managing general agents to write and administer policies in personal and commercial lines, as well as manage renewals and claims.

The business sits within Vencora, an operating group of Constellation Software. Constellation is listed in Toronto and has a market capitalisation of USD $6 billion, according to SSP’s background information.

The MGAA said SSP’s addition reflects the growing role of technology providers in the sector. As MGA businesses expand into new niches and territories, pressure to adjust products and pricing quickly has increased.

Michael Keating, Chief Executive Officer of the MGAA, said: “We are delighted to welcome SSP UK & Ireland to the MGAA. Technology and innovation continue to play an increasingly important role in the MGA sector, and SSP’s focus on AI-powered solutions and product agility aligns strongly with the evolving needs of our members and the wider market.”

OneAdvanced has released the first major update wave for its IQ software platform, adding sector-specific tools for organisations in healthcare, government, education, legal, housing and commercial markets.

The update is the first large-scale expansion of IQ since its launch earlier this year. It introduces artificial intelligence-based automation, workflow and operational intelligence features for organisations in regulated sectors.

Healthcare users will receive clinical documentation tools and patient self-triage functions. Government and housing organisations are getting financial planning, procurement, scheduling and workflow tools to support service delivery and compliance.

Education customers are being given learner management, coaching and compliance functions, while legal users will see workflow automation, compliance monitoring and other operational tools. Commercial customers, including wholesale and logistics businesses, are receiving forecasting, procurement automation and reporting features.

The new functions are designed to sit within existing operational workflows rather than as separate standalone artificial intelligence tools. OneAdvanced positions IQ as a platform that combines data governance, workflow software and sector-specific functions.

The release comes as software suppliers try to move artificial intelligence products beyond pilot projects and into day-to-day business use. In public services and other regulated industries, that shift has increasingly centred on administrative tasks, compliance monitoring and operational planning.

OneAdvanced is one of the larger UK software suppliers focused on sector-specific software-as-a-service markets. Based in Birmingham, it sells products used by public sector bodies, healthcare providers, schools and colleges, legal firms, housing organisations and commercial operators.

Sector focus

The latest release reflects that market structure. Rather than introducing a single set of generic tools, OneAdvanced has grouped the update around the operational needs of each vertical market, with healthcare and public sector functions prominent in the rollout.

That includes clinical tools for primary, urgent and private care, alongside planning and procurement functions for public bodies and housing providers. In education, the emphasis is on learner visibility and administrative processes, while in legal services the focus is on matter management and regulatory oversight.

For commercial users, the additions target finance and supply chain oversight. Forecasting, procurement and operational reporting are among the areas covered for wholesale and logistics organisations.

Customers can now access the updated features. OneAdvanced also said further programmes in payroll, human resources, purchasing and workflow automation are being prepared in private preview.

Marko Perisic, Chief Product Officer at OneAdvanced, outlined the company’s view of how artificial intelligence is being adopted in business software.

“We are only at the beginning of what will be a transformational shift as AI becomes increasingly embedded into everyday work,” said Marko Perisic, Chief Product Officer at OneAdvanced.

“IQ was designed to sit at the centre of that transition, giving organisations across mission-critical sectors an intelligent, connected and trusted system of work, built with the governance and operational resilience our customers already expect from OneAdvanced,” Perisic said.

“We are pleased to be launching this latest release wave and look forward to supporting customers as they unlock productivity, reduce complexity and improve how work gets done,” he added.

Stuart Morris, Robert Fishman and David Soden, of Teneo Financial Advisory, were appointed as joint administrators of the airline on June 3.

All affairs, business and property of European Cargo will now be managed under the watch of the joint administrators.

Meanwhile, it’s understood most of European Cargo’s fleet have been grounded at its main base at Bournemouth Airport in Christchurch, Dorset.

READ MORE: UK holiday operator has collapsed into administration

A statement on the website said: “Stuart Morris, Robert Fishman and David Soden of Teneo Financial Advisory Limited, were appointed joint administrators of European Cargo Limited (“the company”) on 03 June 2026.

“The affairs, business and property of the company are managed by the joint administrators.

“The joint administrators act as agents of the company and contract without personal liability.

“In performing their work in relation to this appointment, the joint administrators are bound by the Insolvency Code of Ethics and regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.”

Our sister paper the Bournemouth Echo has reported staff were told of the administration on a group Teams call on Wednesday.

European Cargo operates flights mostly between the UK and China, including Chongqing, as well as Austria and Norway.

The business operates nine Airbus A340 planes.

Various businesses rely on the goods that the European Cargo planes deliver. It brings goods from China, which is then distributed across the UK including in Oxfordshire.

The most recent accounts for the airline shows that although its turnover increased by 157 per cent, it posted an operating loss of $24,203,000.