Article ID: 4aa22aeaf22ab1faeadb77768ebff8132ad16f894f261fe8701b9de5d4252b05
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Broker consolidation shifts from dealmaking to integration - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Broker consolidation shifts from dealmaking to integration by Gavin Souter Agents and Brokers , Mergers and Acquisitions EPIC , McGill Oct 5, 2026 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — Years of rapid consolidation in the insurance brokerage sector are giving way to a greater focus on integrating acquired firms and on finding sources of organic growth in a softening market, while technology investment is likely to drive further deals, industry executives and advisers say. For much of the past 15 years, many private-equity-backed brokerages have grown aggressively through acquisitions, often allowing the acquired units to operate with significant autonomy, said John Wepler, chairman and CEO of Woodmere, Ohio-based MarshBerry. He was speaking during an interview this week at the Insurance Leadership Forum, sponsored by the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers. But brokerage platform valuation multiples have stabilized, and higher interest rates have increased the need for buyers to integrate acquired businesses, he said. “The thesis of, ‘We’re going to acquire your business, leave you alone, not run a press release, not change your name, not integrate your systems, not change your compensation,’” is changing, Mr. Wepler said. The shift has contributed to a “great migration” of brokerage talent as producers and executives leave consolidators for other brokers or to establish new firms, he said. EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants also views integration as increasingly important to brokerage acquisitions, said CEO Steve Denton. “The days of people going to firms and saying, ‘We’ll buy you and you just do your thing, keep doing it,’ and not integrating those, I think those days are gone,” he said. At the same time, organic growth has become increasingly important in determining brokerage valuations as commercial insurance pricing softens, said Phil Trem, president of MarshBerry. While top-performing brokers can still generate double-digit organic growth, average growth is falling, widening the valuation gap between high-performing and average firms, he said. “Organic growth is becoming the ultimate differentiator,” Mr. Trem said. Lindon, Utah-based Trucordia, which grew through about 300 acquisitions, has been integrating the businesses through centralized agency management systems, insurer relationships and a common brand, said CEO Felix Morgan. The changes are intended to create a common foundation that allows the brokerage to provide more services and resources, he said. Trucordia no longer needs acquisitions simply to build scale and has become more selective, Mr. Morgan said. Of the last 100 potential transactions he reviewed, he rejected about 90. Acquisitions now must add geographic reach, specialty expertise or otherwise fit the brokerage, he said. “I’m particular about who we’re bringing in,” Mr. Morgan said. McGill and Partners, meanwhile, is pursuing a different strategy. The specialty brokerage’s five-year business plan assumes no acquisitions, said founder and CEO Steve McGill. While its new private equity investor, EQT, would support an acquisition if an attractive opportunity arose, the bar for a deal is high, he said. Technology pressures Technology spending could put more pressure on smaller independent brokers to seek larger partners, Mr. Wepler said. For example, a brokerage with $1 billion in revenue spending 5% on technology has $50 million to invest, compared with $5 million for a $100 million brokerage spending the same percentage, he said. The difference in the amount of progress a larger firm can make on digital transformation is “like a quantum-like multiplier,” Mr. Wepler said. Technology is also reshaping the economics of potential acquisitions. EPIC might previously have been less interested in agencies with significant small-commercial books, but technology now allows the company to handle that business more efficiently and integrate additional volume into its existing platform, Mr. Denton said. Smaller brokers also face growing technology and capital spending requirements, making some more willing to discuss a sale, he said. Galway, EPIC’s parent, last recapitalized at the end of 2020 with Harvest Partners as its lead investor. Galway is building the business for the future and expects to have various options, Mr. Denton said. “We are not in the market, but there’s probably a window in the next 24 months where that will become more prevalent,” he said. 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