Insurance
Home›Insurance›Industry & Deals›Insurance agency and brokerage M&A hits weakest start…
Insurance agency and brokerage M&A hits weakest start since 2016
Deal volume fell 15% year over year to 292 transactions in the first half of 2026, according to OPTIS Partners, with second-quarter deals down 25%.
Insurance agency and brokerage merger and acquisition activity slowed sharply in the first half of 2026, with 292 transactions recorded, the weakest start to a year in a decade, according to analysis by OPTIS Partners reported by Risk & Insurance.
That total was down 15% from 342 deals in the first half of 2025 and was 24% below the previous five-year average. The slowdown deepened in the second quarter alone, with 138 transactions, down 25% from 185 in the same period of 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, which OPTIS Partners said was the lowest total since the first quarter of 2019.
The report found that private equity-backed and hybrid buyers drove most announced activity, accounting for nearly 75% of deals in the past 12 months and 80% in the most recent quarter. OPTIS Partners also said BroadStreet Partners led on a trailing 12-month basis with 67 deals, followed by Inszone Insurance Services with 57, while privately owned buyers posted 106 deals over the past 12 months, down 28% from 147 a year earlier.