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McClone absorbs Universal Insurance Advisors employee benefits book
The deal underscores ongoing consolidation pressure in the employee benefits brokerage market as buyers keep paying for durable group health renewal revenue.
Wisconsin brokerage McClone Insurance has absorbed the employee benefits team and clients of Menasha-based Universal Insurance Advisors (UIA). UIA will continue operating its Medicare and individual health business separately, while the group benefits book moves into the larger platform.
Industry sources cited in the story tie the transaction to a broader pattern of independent employee benefits shops selling or merging their group health business as the cost of building standalone infrastructure rises. UIA President Pam Utpadel said the move is intended to keep the same personal service and guidance for clients and staff, but with additional resources.
McClone CEO Dustin McClone said the acquisition preserves UIA’s client relationships while adding capacity for future servicing. The piece also notes that employee benefits agencies represented about 13 percent of US and Canada insurance agency M&A deals tracked by OPTIS Partners in 2025, and that the first half of 2026 saw the slowest start since 2016, with 292 announced transactions.
The article attributes deal durability to group health economics, citing group health renewal rates of about 92 to 96 percent for well-run agencies and describing healthcare cost projections for 2026 of 6.5 to 9.5 percent. It also says well-run benefits agencies were trading at roughly nine to 12 times EBITDA in the first half of 2026, a premium versus comparable property and casualty agencies.