Patriot Growth Insurance Services: insurance broker profile

Overview

Patriot Growth Insurance Services is a private insurance agency platform headquartered in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. It was founded in January 2019 by Matt Gardner, a veteran of insurance distribution, and has grown by adding partner agencies. In its March 2026 release the company said it had more than 2,200 employees in over 100 locations across 29 states and described itself as the 25th-largest U.S. broker according to Business Insurance. It also named itself to the 2025 Inc. 5000 list. The website says it offers "the high-touch service of a boutique firm, backed by the scale, resources, and negotiating power of a top 25 national brokerage." Those ranking claims are the company's own; we did not check them against the magazine's table, and we found no revenue figure from a 2026 list.

History

Patriot started in 2019 with backing from Summit Partners. In February 2021 it announced additional capital to support continued growth. In September 2021, GI Partners led a recapitalization alongside Gardner, with Summit and management keeping significant minority stakes; terms were not disclosed. In November 2023 the company added $500 million of debt to fund its organic growth and acquisition strategy, Business Insurance reported, when it was the 26th-largest U.S. business broker, with about 1,700 employees in 130 offices. Business Insurance's 2020 ranking had listed Patriot 37th with $124.4 million of U.S. brokerage revenue.

We found no announced 2025 or 2026 sale, recapitalization or rebrand. Patriot's own site is patriotgis.com, and the older patriotgrowth.com address redirects to it.

Services

Patriot sells commercial property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance and consulting. Its website lists commercial auto, excess and umbrella, executive protection, benefits administration, captives and cyber consulting, plus services in aviation, construction, habitational, marine, nonprofit and alternative risk. Several partner agencies keep their own names and specialties, such as The Cashion Company in Arkansas, which focuses on construction and surety bonding.

Who it serves

Patriot's clients range from households to middle-market companies, usually through a local partner agency. The company says it combines "the high-touch service of a boutique firm" with the resources of a larger one. A customer may therefore deal with a family-run agency that is now part of a national platform. For how that compares with an independent local agent or a direct purchase, see independent agent, broker, captive agent or direct? and how to choose a commercial insurance broker.

How it is paid

Patriot does not publish a compensation schedule on the pages we reviewed. Like other retail brokers, it is generally paid by commissions from insurers as a percentage of premium, by fees from clients on some accounts such as benefits and consulting, and in many cases by contingent commissions that depend on the volume, growth or profitability of business with an insurer. Platform consolidation can add shared-carrier or placement arrangements that a single agency would not have. Clients can ask in writing how Patriot is paid on their account. how commercial insurance brokers get paid explains the main arrangements.

Recent deals

• Cashion Company (Little Rock and Fayetteville, Arkansas): added as a partner agency, reported May 22, 2025; the principals stay involved.
• Morse Insurance Agency (North Easton, Massachusetts): announced March 17, 2026. The family-led agency, with offices in Norton, Bridgewater and Marion, keeps its leadership and local identity. Insurance Journal called it an acquisition, while Patriot called it a partnership.
• Earlier pace: Patriot announced 16 acquisitions in the first half of 2023 alone, including Douce James Agency and CoreMark Insurance Services, per Business Insurance.
• Capital: $500 million of added debt (November 2023), described above.

The company's steady agency purchases follow the pattern described in private equity and the consolidation of insurance brokers; see also the largest commercial insurance brokers, ranked by 2025 revenue.

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strengths: a national platform with local agency identities; specialty coverage in construction, surety and habitational; the capital of two private-equity sponsors.
• Weaknesses: limited public financial disclosure; sponsor-backed debt and an eventual exit that could change ownership again; the quality of integration varies across a large number of partner agencies; ranking and employee figures come mostly from the company.

Buyers may want to ask whether their local agency has kept its team after joining Patriot, which insurers hold most of its business, and how any supplemental or contingent compensation is disclosed. A Writing a broker RFP for a commercial insurance program can be used to compare Patriot against other brokers.

A few points help put Patriot in context. It is younger than almost every broker it is ranked beside, so its size comes from purchases rather than decades of organic growth. Its sponsor structure, with GI Partners as lead investor and Summit Partners and management as minority holders, is common among acquisitive brokers, and sponsors typically plan an eventual sale or recapitalization. Patriot's own newsroom is a good place to check current deals, because trade coverage often lags behind or labels transactions differently than the company does.

How to contact Patriot Growth Insurance Services