UK MGA Alps targets £13m add-on push as Renters' Rights Act reshapes landlord risk

Alps' Growth Story: Add-Ons, Legislation and a £13m Target

Alps, the Cheshire-based managing general agent that sells add-on insurance and legal-expenses cover through intermediaries, has reported 13% EBITDA growth for the 12 months to the end of March 2026 and said first-quarter trading in the new financial year is running ahead of the same period last year. The company attributes the improvement to a wider broker network, stronger relationships with distribution partners and a broader product range.

The product story is the notable part. Alps launched or enhanced 12 add-on policies over the year, several written specifically around the Renters' Rights Act, which came into force in May 2026. The legislation abolished Section 21 no-fault evictions, converted assured shorthold tenancies into rolling monthly agreements and restricted how much rent landlords can demand in advance. The practical effect: a landlord can no longer quickly end a tenancy and re-let when a tenant stops paying, or when a pet causes damage the tenancy agreement never anticipated.

In response, Alps developed a rent guarantee product and a landlord pet insurance cover. It also extended its GAP range and launched pothole damage cover, a motor-side product tied to what the company describes as the ongoing deterioration of the UK's road network. Alps serves more than 1,000 UK brokers, reports a 90% broker retention rate, and says 63% of brokers on its panel are now selling more add-ons than they were a year ago.

The company is targeting £13 million in gross written premium by 2028, a level it frames as the milestone for becoming the UK's leading add-on provider. Managing director Michelle O'Reilly said the aim was to give brokers 'fast access to relevant products' that generate income and retain customers. Alps operates delegated authority arrangements with a panel of insurers for faster quoting and binding, and its in-house legal practice handles claims across the legal expenses book. It says prior investment in technology has produced a 50% improvement in claims efficiency.

Behind the Push: Renters' Rights Gaps, Potholes and the MGA Model

Why the Renters' Rights Act Created a New Coverage Gap

The legislation does more than tweak tenancy terms — it shifts risk onto landlords for a longer and less predictable period. With Section 21 gone, a tenant who stops paying cannot be removed through a simple no-fault process, and a pet that damages a property leaves the landlord exposed where the tenancy agreement did not cover it. The new restrictions on rent in advance remove another layer of upfront protection landlords previously relied on. Those are verified changes under the Act. The market interpretation is that they amount to a genuine, newly-created coverage gap — and that is exactly the gap Alps' rent guarantee and landlord pet products are built to close. The company says several of its 12 new or enhanced policies were developed in direct response to legislative change, a signal that regulation is now driving more product development in this segment than price competition.

Potholes and the Motor Add-On Opportunity

The pothole damage cover sits on the motor side of the portfolio, alongside excess protect, tools in transit, vehicle replacement and road rescue. Alps attributes the launch to broker demand tied to the deterioration of the UK's road network. The analytical point: motor add-ons have historically been dominated by GAP and excess products, so a pothole line is a relatively uncommon attempt to convert an infrastructure problem into recurring premium. Whether it scales will depend on claims frequency and pricing discipline, neither of which the company has disclosed.

The MGA Model's Edge: Delegated Authority and In-House Legal

Alps is not an insurer; it underwrites through delegated authority arrangements with a panel of insurers, which it says supports faster quoting and binding. Its in-house legal practice is the structural differentiator most relevant to the new landlord products. Tenancy disputes arising under the new rolling-agreement rules are exactly the claims where specialist legal handling matters most, and where the gap between policy issuance and claims resolution is shortest. The claimed 50% improvement in claims efficiency from technology investment is company-reported, but it underpins the operational argument behind the whole product push.

What the Numbers Say — and What They Leave Out

The disclosed figures describe a business in good health: 13% EBITDA growth, a 90% broker retention rate and 63% of panel brokers selling more add-ons year on year. What is missing is scale. The article does not state Alps' current gross written premium, so the £13 million target for 2028 cannot be benchmarked against where the business stands today — the ambition is clear, the distance to it is not. First-quarter trading running ahead of the prior year is an early momentum signal, and the first hard test will be the next full-year results, covering the 12 months to March 2027.

What Brokers and Landlord Clients Should Make of the New Cover

• Brokers with landlord books now have a concrete answer to a coverage question that only emerged when the Renters' Rights Act took effect in May 2026: with Section 21 abolished, tenancies converted to rolling monthly agreements and rent in advance restricted, unpaid rent and pet damage sit with the landlord longer. Alps' rent guarantee product and landlord pet cover are built for exactly that gap, which gives advisers something specific to raise at renewal.
• Claims capability belongs in the sales conversation, not just price: tenancy disputes under the new rolling agreements are legal-heavy claims, and Alps' in-house legal practice plus its reported 50% claims-efficiency improvement are the differentiators brokers can test when comparing providers.
• Motor brokers should expect pothole damage cover to appear in add-on discussions: Alps launched it on the back of UK road-network deterioration, alongside established lines such as excess protect, vehicle replacement and road rescue — renewal quotes are the natural entry point.
• Landlord policyholders should check whether their current cover responds to pet damage the tenancy agreement never anticipated, and whether rent guarantee applies under a rolling monthly tenancy — the two exposures the Act made materially harder for landlords to absorb.
• For insurers and rival MGAs, the lesson is pace: several of Alps' 12 new or enhanced policies in 12 months were built in direct response to legislation, signalling that regulatory-driven coverage gaps are now a fast route to premium growth in add-on lines. The checkpoint is Alpine Alps' next full-year results, due after its March year-end, which will show whether first-quarter momentum held.