Insurance Agency M&A Activity Hits Slowest Pace Since 2016 As Deal Volume Keeps Sliding

Insurance agency and brokerage merger and acquisition activity has slowed to its lowest level in years, with 292 transactions recorded in the first half of 2026, according to analysis by OPTIS Partners.

That figure marks a 15% drop from the 342 deals recorded in the first half of 2025 and sits 24% below the previous five-year average, OPTIS Partners said. The slowdown was even sharper in the second quarter alone, with 138 transactions, down 25% from the 185 recorded in the same period in 2025. On a trailing 12-month basis, 646 deals were recorded through June 2026, down 17% from 783 in the 12-month period ended June 2025 and the lowest total since the first quarter of 2019, according to the report.

Private Equity Still Dominates, But Buyer Pool Is Shifting

Private equity-backed and hybrid buyers accounted for nearly 75% of all announced transactions in the past 12 months and 80% in the most recent quarter, OPTIS Partners found. Privately owned buyers, by contrast, posted 106 deals in the past 12 months, down 28% from 147 at the same point in 2025, and represented 16% of first-half 2026 deals, slightly less than the same period a year earlier.

OPTIS Partners identified 68 unique buyers active in the first half of 2026, including 37 private equity firms, six of which announced their first acquisition, and 21 privately held firms, nine of which were first-time buyers. Over the past eight quarters, 143 distinct buyers have been active, but the market remains concentrated: 43% completed just one deal, and only 37%, or 53 firms, completed four or more deals, a group that OPTIS Partners labels “Active Buyers.”

Among the most active firms, BroadStreet Partners led all buyers on a trailing 12-month basis with 67 deals, above its previous five-year average of 60. Inszone Insurance Services followed with 57 deals, well above its five-year average of 39, while Hub International logged 33 deals, down from its five-year average of 62, and World Insurance Associates recorded 32 against a five-year average of 36.

Those four firms combined for 29% of total deal volume over the past four quarters, a share consistent with at least 25% in each of the prior three years, according to the report. Ten firms accounted for 45% of all deals in the first half of 2026.

Momentum Diverges Among Top Acquirers

The report found a widening split among the most active buyers. Only eight firms completed at least 20 acquisitions in the past 12 months, down from 11 a year earlier, and just three of those eight increased their deal count while five slowed down. Six firms that had logged more than 20 deals a year earlier fell below that threshold this period, with declines in activity ranging from 31% to 69%: Patriot Growth Insurance Services, Acrisure, HighStreet Partners, Arthur J. Gallagher, Alera Group and King Risk Partners.

Notable transactions in the period included Willis Towers Watson’s acquisition of Newfront, an estimated $250 million-revenue firm, in January 2026, and Third Wave’s purchase of Palmer & Cay, estimated at $25 million in revenue, in March 2026. Private equity-backed ownership changes included BayPine LP’s acquisition of Relation Insurance Services from Aquiline in January 2026 and a May 2026 transaction in which Oak Hill and New Mountain took minority positions in IMA while HarborVest added to its existing stake.

OPTIS Partners said the industry is “near the bottom” of a nearly four-year slide in deal volume, noting that while the supply of sellers has diminished in both quantity and quality, a large number of firms will still need to sell over the next five to 10 years as buyer demand shifts toward emerging and recapitalizing firms.

Obtain the full report here. &