Insurance Agency M&A Falls 6% in First Quarter

• By: Olivia Overman
• May 3, 2026

Independent insurance agency mergers & acquisitions activity dipped slightly in the first quarter of 2026 with 148 deals, down 6% on the first quarter of 2025, according to OPTIS Partners, a financial consulting and investment banking firm specializing in the insurance industry. It was the 10th consecutive quarter of deal volume below the long-term trend line.

While down, experts believe the three-year decline is bottoming out.

“The industry has ridden down a three-year slide in deal volume, which we believe is beginning to bottom out to about 650 deals per year,” said Steve Germundson, a partner of the firm.

Private equity-backed buyers accounted for 72% of all acquisitions in the first quarter, including insurance brokers such as BroadStreet and institutional investors, such as family offices, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds.

Inszone and BroadStreet Partners—the most active buyers—completed 17 and 16 deals respectively, followed by World Insurance Associates with 9 deals and ALKEME with 7 deals. Several historically active buyers slowed their pace substantially, the report said.

Sellers in the marketplace are placed into four categories: property & casualty agencies, employee benefits agencies, combination p&c and benefits agencies, and all others.

Among sellers, p&c agencies accounted for 101 transactions (68% of the total), while combination p&c and benefits agencies sales totaled 15 (10%), with 14 sales of benefits agencies (9%). All other sellers accounted for 20 deals (13%).

Looking ahead, OPTIS Partners expects continued strong acquisition demand for both very small and mid-sized insurance agencies.

“The vast majority of the 25,000 to 30,000 firms nationally are very small and will have to be sold eventually,” said Tim Cunningham, managing partner at OPTIS. “We are seeing an emerging group of new ventures backed by private-equity and family-office capital pursuing this group because of the large supply of future sellers, enhancements in technology, and long-term changes in the way insurance at the smaller end will be sold and serviced.”

Somewhat larger agencies are also appealing due to their relative scarcity and improved performance, with many expected to become sellers soon.

“Many of these firms will also be sellers in the not-too-distant future,” Cunningham said.

At the same time, production teams are leaving to start their own firms. “We expect to see this continue,” Cunningham said.

Olivia Overman is IA content editor.