Insurance Agency Mergers and Acquisitions Wane in First Quarter
Deals for insurance firms in US and Canada dip 15%, OPTIS Partners reports
MINNEAPOLIS, MN / ACCESS Newswire / May 6, 2025 /There were 141 announced insurance agency mergers and acquisitions in the first quarter of 2025, down 15% from 166 in the same period in 2024, according to OPTIS Partners ' M&A database.
This marks the slowest quarter since the second quarter of 2020. Nine consecutive quarters have fallen below the long-term trend line.
"We think the pace will ultimately pick up this year because of the large number of active buyers in the market, although current economic uncertainties may cause a bit of a delay," said Steve Germundson, a partner at OPTIS Partners, an investment banking and financial consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry.
Some 139 deals were for US agencies while Canadian brokers accounted for six transactions.
BroadStreet and World Insurance lead buyers
BroadStreet Partners led all buyers in Q1 with 18 deals, followed by World Insurance Associates with 10, and King Risk partners with seven deals. While Arthur J. Gallagher did ink fewer deals than in the past, it did make two big acquisitions: AssuredPartners (pending approval) and Woodruff-Sawyer.
Private-equity buyers dominate
OPTIS Partners tracks buyers by four groups: private equity-backed/hybrid brokers, privately held brokers, publicly held brokers, and all others.
The private equity-backed/hybrid group of buyers continued to dominate deal activity in the first quarter, accounting for 73% of all transactions. This pace-setting group includes just 26 firms.
Privately held brokers completed 25 acquisitions while publicly held brokers reported 13 deals.
P&C Agencies were main sellers
Sellers are placed in four categories: property/casualty agencies, employee benefits agencies, combination P&C/benefits agencies, and all others. The latter includes third-party administrators and related managing general agent operations, and agencies solely focused on life insurance, investment or financial management, consulting, and other businesses connected to insurance distribution.
P&C sellers accounted for 96 transactions (68% of the total). Benefits agencies sales totaled 11 (10%), and there were 14 sales of P&C/benefits agencies (8%). All other sellers accounted for 20 deals (14%).
2025 should bring more mega-deals
Several private equity-backed firms are getting ready to put themselves on the market or recapitalize, according to OPTIS managing partner Timothy J. Cunningham.
"We also expect more large privately owned agencies will be sold this year," he added. "The sale of San Francisco-based Woodruff-Sawyer, with $268 million in estimated revenues, points to further mega-deals this year."
The full report can be read at https://optisins.com/wp/2025/04/q1-2025-ma-report/.
About OPTIS Partners
Focused exclusively on the insurance-distribution marketplace, Chicago-based OPTIS Partners (www.optisins.com) offers merger & acquisition representation for buyers and sellers, including due-diligence reviews. It provides appraisals of fair market value; financial performance review, including trend analysis and internal controls; and ownership transition and perpetuation planning.
Contact: Steve Germundson, OPTIS Partners, germundson@optisins.com 612-758-0598
Tim Cunningham, OPTIS Partners, cunningham@optisins.com, 312-543-5425
Dan Menzer, OPTIS Partners, menzer@optisins.com, 630-520-0490
Henry Stimpson, Stimpson Communications, Henry@StimpsonCommunications.com
SOURCE: OPTIS Partners
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