The number of mergers and acquisitions among insurance intermediaries fell by 12% last year, despite the completion of several large deals.

There were 695 announced deals in 2025 among agents, brokers, third-party administrators and other intermediaries, according to the Chicago-based investment banking and financial consulting firm.

The pace of deals was similar to that of 2019, the last full year before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

“Similarities include an annual deal pace between 650 and 700 and a relatively even distribution of deals throughout the year. In fact, 2019 and 2025 are the only years when the Q4 deal volume was lower than the other quarters and December was not the busiest month for closings,” Steve Germundson, a partner at Optis, said in the statement.

Buyers backed by private equity continued to dominate M&A activity, accounting for 73% of all deals.

Broadstreet Partners, the 12^th-largest broker of U.S. business, according to Business Insurance’s most recent ranking, was the most acquisitive broker with 69 deals last year, but that was down from 90 in 2024. Hub was second, with 49 deals vs. 61 in the prior year, and Inszone was third with 45 deals compared with 48.

Despite the drop in deal volume, some very large deals were announced last year, including Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s purchases of AssuredPartners, which reported $2.9 billion in revenue, and Woodruff Sawyer, which had revenues of $268 million; Brown & Brown’s purchase of Accession Risk Management, which reported $1.7 billion in revenue; The Baldwin Group’s deal to buy CAC Group, which reported $282 million in revenue; and Willis Towers Watson’s announced deal with Newfront, which reported $235 million in revenue.

“We expect more large deals and recapitalizations in 2026 as the chase for scale continues,” said Tim Cunningham, managing partner at Optis.