Guides
Private equity and the consolidation of insurance brokers
How private equity roll-ups reshaped insurance brokerage, the 2025 deal counts, the biggest recent acquisitions, and what to ask when your broker is sold.
Insurance brokerage is consolidating: thousands of independent agencies have been bought by larger firms, most of them financed by private equity, and the buyers are now being bought by even larger firms. MarshBerry counted 854 U.S. brokerage transactions in 2025, and 70.8% of them were made by buyers backed by private capital. For a client, the sale of a broker usually changes nothing on day one. What can change over the following year is who services your account, which insurers get your business and how your broker is paid.
How the roll-up model works
A private equity firm buys a "platform," a well-run brokerage with a management team, then uses borrowed money and its own capital to buy smaller "add-on" agencies. The sellers are mostly owners who want to retire or cash out. They receive money up front, and often some equity in the platform, and typically stay on to run their office. The platform adds each agency's commission income to its own, spreads back-office costs across a larger base, and negotiates better terms with insurers. After several years the sponsor sells the whole platform, often to another sponsor or to a larger broker.
Three features of agency economics make this work. Commissions renew every year with high retention, so the cash flow is predictable and lenders will finance it. The business needs few physical assets. And the supply of sellers is large: OPTIS Partners estimates about 30,000 independent agencies with under $1.25 million of revenue, most without a succession plan (Risk & Insurance, Jan. 23, 2026).
The numbers for 2025
The two main trackers count differently, so treat the figures as a range rather than one fact:
| Measure | MarshBerry (U.S. brokerage) | OPTIS Partners (U.S. and Canadian agencies and brokers) |
|---|---|---|
| Transactions in 2025 | 854, up 0.8% from 2024; the third most active year on record | 695, down 11.7% from 787 in 2024; the fourth quarter's 157 deals were the fewest since 2019 |
| Buyers | 605 deals (70.8%) by private capital-backed buyers; 127 (14.9%) by independent firms; 52 (6.1%) by public brokers; 10 (1.2%) by banks | 41 private-equity-backed buyer firms; 95 active acquirers in all, down from 104 |
| Most active acquirers | Not listed | BroadStreet Partners 69 deals, Hub International 49, Inszone 45, World Insurance Associates 34 |
| Source | MarshBerry year in review | Risk & Insurance, Jan. 23, 2026 |
MarshBerry also reported that public broker stock values fell 21.0% from their March 2025 peak through the end of the year, while many private brokers kept record valuations (MarshBerry). That gap, public buyers trading cheaper than the private firms they want, is part of why the biggest recent deals involve public companies buying sponsor-built platforms.
The largest recent deals
- Marsh and McGriff. Marsh (then branded Marsh McLennan) closed its purchase of McGriff Insurance Services on November 15, 2024 for $7.75 billion in cash; McGriff joined Marsh McLennan Agency.
- Aon and NFP. Aon completed its purchase of NFP on April 25, 2024, at an enterprise value of $13.0 billion per Aon. NFP had been owned by funds affiliated with Madison Dearborn Partners and HPS.
- Brown & Brown and Accession. Completed on August 1, 2025, for about $9.83 billion ($9.825 billion gross). Accession is the parent of Risk Strategies and One80 Intermediaries, and the deal was expected to add about $1.7 billion of annual revenue to Brown & Brown.
- Gallagher and AssuredPartners. Arthur J. Gallagher acquired AssuredPartners on August 18, 2025 for about $13.45 billion of gross consideration per trade press, adding about 10,900 employees.
- WTW and Newfront. WTW announced the completion of its purchase of Newfront on January 27, 2026, a deal worth up to $1.3 billion including contingent payments.
- Baldwin and CAC Group. The Baldwin Group completed its merger with CAC Group on January 2, 2026.
Two more deals are pending. On August 31, 2026 Aon agreed to buy USI from KKR and other shareholders for $17.0 billion, expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026 subject to regulatory approvals. On September 14, 2026 Baldwin agreed to a take-private by Sequence Holdings and DFO Management at an enterprise value of about $7.7 billion, expected to close in the first quarter of 2027.
For where these firms rank by revenue, see the largest commercial insurance brokers, ranked by 2025 revenue.
What the consolidation changes for a client
Nothing in a sale cancels or changes a policy. The insurance contract is with the insurer, not the broker. But the broker's incentives and operations can shift:
| Area | What can change | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Your account team | Producers and service staff leave, or accounts are moved to a central service center | Who handles my account day to day, and will they still be here in a year? |
| Market access | The firm may favor carriers with which it has volume or special compensation agreements | Which markets did you approach for my renewal, and which did you leave out and why? |
| Compensation | Contingent or supplemental commissions, new fees, or a shift from commission to fee | What does the firm earn on my account, in total? See how commercial insurance brokers get paid |
| Specialty resources | A larger platform may add risk engineering, benefits and wholesale capabilities | Can I use them, and at what cost? |
| Technology and process | New portals, certificate and billing systems | How are certificates issued, and what is the turnaround? |
| Ownership and strategy | The sponsor may sell again, or merge the firm into another | Is another sale planned, and would it change my team or office? |
Consolidation has genuine advantages for some clients: more specialists, better data and benchmarking, access to wholesale and program markets in-house, and a succession plan when an owner retires. Neither the good nor the bad outcome is automatic. It depends on how the acquirer runs the office it bought.
A hypothetical example
Say a 35-employee machine shop has used the same local agency for 15 years, and the agency announces it has joined a national platform. The shop's owner should do four things in the first month. Confirm in writing who the account manager and producer are. Ask for a current copy of every policy, endorsements and certificates, plus five years of loss runs kept in the company's own files. Ask what, if anything, changes in how the broker is paid. And note the renewal date, because 90 to 120 days ahead is the time to decide whether to stay or ask for a competing proposal.
If you are unhappy
You can move your business at any time. A new broker typically needs a broker-of-record letter signed by you, which tells the insurer to deal with the new firm. Your coverage continues, and the policy does not need to be rewritten. For a structured comparison, see Writing a broker RFP for a commercial insurance program and how to choose a commercial insurance broker. Producer licensing and compensation disclosure are regulated state by state, so a state's insurance department can answer questions about what a broker must tell you; see producer licensing for agents and brokers.
Key takeaways
- 2025 saw 854 U.S. brokerage deals (MarshBerry) or 695 (OPTIS), with private capital behind roughly 70% of them by MarshBerry's count.
- The biggest recent deals, including Marsh-McGriff, Aon-NFP, Brown & Brown-Accession and Gallagher-AssuredPartners, are public brokers buying platforms that private equity built.
- A broker's sale does not change your policy, but it can change your account team, carrier access and the way your broker is paid.
- Keep your own copies of policies, certificates and loss runs, and ask in writing who services your account.
- If service or transparency slips, you can switch brokers without changing insurers or coverage.