---
title: "13 Best Insurance Investment Bankers and M&A Advisors in 2026"
lang: en
canonical_url: https://www.papermark.com/blog/best-insurance-ma-advisors
last_updated: 2026-08-26
published: 2026-08-26
category: [mergers-and-acquisitions]
author: "Marc Seitz"
summary: "Compare 13 verified insurance investment bankers by deal size, segment and fee model, plus what agency owners and carriers should prepare before a sale in 2026."
---

# 13 Best Insurance Investment Bankers and M&A Advisors in 2026

Insurance M&A is really two markets. Distribution deals, meaning agencies, brokerages and managing general agents, run on private equity backed consolidators. Carrier, reinsurance and specialty deals run on a different set of banks entirely. This guide profiles 13 verified insurance investment bankers across both.

The distribution side is the busiest. Consolidators such as Hub International, Acrisure, Risk Strategies, World Insurance Associates, Alera Group and BroadStreet Partners have spent a decade buying independent agencies, and several hundred agency transactions are announced in the United States every year. The buyers are professional, they close constantly, and they know exactly what an unrepresented seller will accept.

That asymmetry is the argument for hiring an advisor. Agency valuations are quoted off pro forma EBITDA after adjusting owner compensation, and the difference between a seller's view of pro forma EBITDA and a buyer's view is usually where the money is. A specialist knows which adjustments survive and which get stripped at closing.

  Every adviser on this list will ask where your documents are going to live
  before they take the mandate. A **data room for insurance M&A** is the
  permissioned workspace that holds your book of business, your carrier
  appointment letters and your producer contracts while several buyers review
  them at once.

## Quick list of insurance investment bankers

- **MarshBerry**: The best known investment banking and consulting firm for insurance distribution.
- **Reagan Consulting**: Atlanta firm covering M&A advisory, valuation and perpetuation planning.
- **Sica | Fletcher**: High volume insurance M&A advisory for brokers and agencies.
- **Dowling Hales**: New York investment bank advising insurance distribution and services businesses.
- **Optis Partners**: Chicago firm combining agency M&A advisory with financial consulting.
- **Mystic Capital Advisors Group**: Insurance investment banking boutique for agencies and MGAs.
- **Agency Brokerage**: Valuation, sale and acquisition specialist for insurance distribution.
- **Colonnade Advisors**: Chicago bank covering insurance and financial services M&A.
- **Houlihan Lokey**: Global bank whose insurance practice absorbed Waller Helms Advisors.
- **Keefe, Bruyette & Woods**: Financial services investment bank and a Stifel company.
- **Piper Sandler**: Full service bank with a large financial services and insurance franchise.
- **Berkshire Global Advisors**: Advisory to asset management, wealth and insurance businesses.
- **Fenchurch Advisory**: London based adviser specialising in the financial services sector.

## How to get yes from insurance investment bankers

Advisors in this market screen on whether your agency will attract more than one bidder. A book that is diversified, retained and not dependent on the owner personally will get an engagement letter. A book where the owner writes 60% of new business will not, or will only at a fee that reflects the work.

Retention is the first number they ask for. Buyers underwrite policy and client retention over three years, and anything under about 85% invites a lower multiple or an earn out. Bring the retention data by line, by producer and by carrier, not just the aggregate.

Producer contracts are the second. If your producers have no non-solicitation agreements, a buyer is acquiring a book that can walk. Getting agreements in place well before you go to market is one of the few things that reliably adds a turn of EBITDA.

Third is document readiness. Insurance diligence covers carrier appointments and contingent commission agreements, licensing across every state you write in, errors and omissions history, and the full commission ledger. Staging that in a permissioned workspace before you talk to consolidators is the fix, and our review of the [best virtual data rooms](https://www.papermark.com/blog/best-virtual-data-rooms.md) covers what each tier costs.

Bring these to a first meeting with an advisor:

1. Three years of financials plus a pro forma EBITDA calculation with every adjustment documented
2. Commission revenue by carrier, by line of business and by producer
3. Policy and client retention by year, with lost account reasons
4. Carrier appointments, contingent and supplemental commission agreements
5. Producer agreements, compensation schedules and non-solicitation terms
6. Licensing by state, plus errors and omissions claims history

_No credit card required._

## How to find insurance investment bankers

Segment first. An advisor who sells retail property and casualty agencies has different buyers from one selling an MGA, a third party administrator, a wholesale broker or a carrier.

- **Segment match**: Retail agency, wholesale, MGA, benefits, TPA and carrier are separate buyer pools.
- **Deal volume**: Ask how many transactions the firm closed in your segment in the last 12 months.
- **Buyer coverage**: Ask which consolidators and sponsors they have closed with, by name.
- **Valuation method**: They should explain pro forma EBITDA adjustments before quoting a multiple.
- **Fee model**: Success fees generally run 2% to 6% of enterprise value, with smaller deals higher.
- **Conflict check**: Some firms also advise buyers, so ask who else they represent in your market.
- **FINRA registration**: Securities transactions require a registered broker dealer, so ask which one.
- **References**: Two owners who closed in the last 18 months, including one deal that got difficult.

## How to approach insurance investment bankers

Approach three or four firms in parallel and compare their valuation views on the same information. Ranges in this market vary widely between advisors, and the spread itself tells you something.

Confidentiality is a real risk because carriers, producers and competing agencies all talk. If word gets out that you are selling, competitors will call your producers and your largest accounts within the week.

1. Decide whether you want a full sale, a majority recapitalisation or a perpetuation plan for internal buyers.
2. Shortlist four advisors whose closed deals match your segment and revenue.
3. Send a blind summary: lines written, states, commission revenue, pro forma EBITDA, retention.
4. Ask for a written valuation range with the transaction comparables behind it.
5. Ask which ten buyers they would approach and why those ten.
6. Check the engagement letter for exclusivity, tail period, expense cap and fee schedule.
7. Set the document policy before signing: tracked links, watermarks, no unrestricted downloads.
8. Require weekly written updates on buyer activity and indications received.

## Comparing the insurance investment bankers

| Firm | Typical client | Focus |
| --- | --- | --- |
| MarshBerry | Agencies to large brokerages | Insurance distribution, wealth advisory, consulting |
| Reagan Consulting | Leading independent brokerages | M&A advisory, valuation, perpetuation, research |
| Sica \| Fletcher | Agencies and brokerages | Buy-side and sell-side insurance brokerage M&A |
| Dowling Hales | Middle market | Insurance distribution, services, specialty |
| Optis Partners | Lower middle market agencies | Agency M&A, valuation, financial consulting |
| Mystic Capital Advisors Group | Agencies, MGAs, programme businesses | Insurance investment banking |
| Agency Brokerage | Independent agencies | Valuation, sale and acquisition of distribution firms |
| Colonnade Advisors | Middle market | Insurance and financial services M&A |
| Houlihan Lokey | Middle market to large cap | Distribution, carriers, services, capital advisory |
| Keefe, Bruyette & Woods | Institutional and public | Insurance, banks, specialty finance |
| Piper Sandler | Middle market to large cap | Insurance, financial services, capital markets |
| Berkshire Global Advisors | Middle market | Asset and wealth management, insurance |
| Fenchurch Advisory | European mandates | Insurance, banking and financial services |

## 1. MarshBerry

MarshBerry is the reference name in insurance distribution, combining investment banking with the consulting and benchmarking work that many agency owners use for years before they sell.

- Typical client: Independent agencies through large regional brokerages
- Segments: Property and casualty, employee benefits, wealth advisory, specialty distribution
- Location: Woodmere, Ohio, with offices across the United States and in the United Kingdom
- Website: [MarshBerry](https://www.marshberry.com/)
- Notable: Provides M&A advisory, debt and equity capital raising, valuation and consulting to distribution firms

## 2. Reagan Consulting

Reagan advises many of the largest independent brokerages in the country and is unusual in treating perpetuation, meaning an internal sale to the next generation, as a serious alternative to selling out.

- Typical client: Leading independent insurance brokerages
- Segments: Retail property and casualty, employee benefits
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia
- Website: [Reagan Consulting](https://www.reaganconsulting.com/)
- Notable: Offers M&A advisory, capital raising, valuation, perpetuation planning and industry research

## 3. Sica | Fletcher

Sica Fletcher runs one of the highest deal counts in insurance brokerage M&A and works both sides, advising sellers as well as several of the acquisitive platforms.

- Typical client: Agencies and brokerages across the size range
- Segments: Insurance brokerage, agency and programme businesses
- Location: New York and New Jersey
- Website: [Sica | Fletcher](https://www.sicafletcher.com/)
- Notable: States it has been ranked the top strategic insurance M&A advisory firm by S&P Global

## 4. Dowling Hales

Dowling Hales is a New York investment bank that has advised insurance distribution and services companies for decades, and it is a common choice where a deal needs structuring rather than simply listing.

- Typical client: Middle market insurance distribution and services businesses
- Segments: Retail and wholesale distribution, MGAs, insurance services
- Location: New York, New York
- Website: [Dowling Hales](https://dowlinghales.com/)
- Notable: Founded in 1972, advising on mergers, acquisitions, capital raising, buyouts and private placements

## 5. Optis Partners

Optis pairs agency M&A advisory with financial consulting, and it publishes recurring research on agency transaction volume that owners can use to sanity check what an advisor tells them.

- Typical client: Lower middle market independent agencies
- Segments: Property and casualty, employee benefits distribution
- Location: Chicago, Illinois
- Website: [Optis Partners](https://optisins.com/)
- Notable: Combines M&A advisory and valuation with ongoing financial consulting for agency owners

## 6. Mystic Capital Advisors Group

Mystic is an insurance-only investment banking boutique working with agencies, managing general agents and programme businesses, including sellers who want a partner rather than an exit.

- Typical client: Agencies, MGAs, wholesalers and programme businesses
- Segments: Insurance distribution and specialty programmes
- Location: New York, New York
- Website: [Mystic Capital Advisors Group](https://mysticcapital.com/)
- Notable: Investment banking practice dedicated to the insurance industry

## 7. Agency Brokerage

Agency Brokerage focuses narrowly on valuing, selling and acquiring insurance distribution businesses, which makes it a practical option for a smaller agency that a national bank would decline.

- Typical client: Independent agencies and smaller distribution firms
- Segments: Insurance distribution, agency perpetuation and acquisition
- Location: Florida, serving clients nationally
- Website: [Agency Brokerage](https://www.agencybrokerage.com/)
- Notable: Specialises in the valuation, sale and acquisition of insurance distribution businesses

## 8. Colonnade Advisors

Colonnade covers financial services and business services M&A with a long track record in insurance adjacent businesses, including specialty finance and vehicle service contract companies.

- Typical client: Middle market companies
- Segments: Insurance, specialty finance, financial and business services
- Location: Chicago, Illinois
- Website: [Colonnade Advisors](https://coladv.com/)
- Notable: Merger and acquisition advisory focused on financial services and business services sectors

## 9. Houlihan Lokey

Houlihan Lokey brings a global platform to insurance and absorbed Waller Helms Advisors, a specialist insurance and wealth management boutique, whose website now redirects to Houlihan Lokey.

- Typical client: Middle market through large cap
- Segments: Distribution, carriers, insurance services, wealth management
- Location: Los Angeles headquarters, with global offices
- Website: [Houlihan Lokey](https://www.hl.com/)
- Notable: One of the most active middle market M&A advisers globally, with a dedicated financial services group

## 10. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

KBW is the financial services specialist, covering insurance alongside banks and specialty finance, and it is the natural adviser for carrier level and public company transactions.

- Typical client: Carriers, public companies, institutional clients
- Segments: Insurance, banks, specialty finance, financial technology
- Location: New York, New York
- Website: [Keefe, Bruyette & Woods](https://www.kbw.com/)
- Notable: Full service boutique investment bank and broker dealer specialising in financial services, a Stifel company

## 11. Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler runs a large financial services franchise that covers insurance underwriters, distributors and services businesses, with both M&A and public capital markets capability.

- Typical client: Middle market through large cap
- Segments: Insurance, banks, financial services, diversified sectors
- Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, with offices across the United States and abroad
- Website: [Piper Sandler](https://www.pipersandler.com/)
- Notable: Multinational investment bank covering M&A, restructuring, public offerings and research

## 12. Berkshire Global Advisors

Berkshire Global concentrates on the financial services sector, including asset and wealth management and insurance, and it is well suited to businesses where the asset being sold is a client relationship base.

- Typical client: Middle market financial services businesses
- Segments: Asset management, wealth management, insurance distribution
- Location: New York, with offices in London, Sydney and Denver
- Website: [Berkshire Global Advisors](https://berkshireglobal.com/)
- Notable: Advisory firm focused on the asset management, wealth and insurance sectors

## 13. Fenchurch Advisory

Fenchurch is the European entry on this list, an independently managed advisory firm specialising in financial services, and the right call if your business or your likely buyer sits in the United Kingdom or Europe.

- Typical client: European insurance and financial services businesses
- Segments: Insurance, banking, asset management, financial services
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Website: [Fenchurch Advisory](https://fenchurchadvisory.com/)
- Notable: Independently managed investment banking and corporate finance firm specialising in financial services

## Why you need secure document sharing in an insurance agency sale

Insurance diligence is granular. A consolidator will want the commission ledger by carrier and by producer, retention analysis, carrier appointment letters, contingent commission agreements, state licences, producer contracts and the errors and omissions claims file, and several bidders will want them at once.

The people asking for those files are frequently your competitors. Consolidators buy in territories where their existing agencies already write business, and an independent agency two towns away can present itself as a merger partner purely to read your book. Sending a commission ledger and a producer roster by email to fifteen parties, most of whom will never make an offer, hands your account list, your carrier contingent terms and your top producers' names to firms that compete with you every renewal season.

A confidentiality leak in agency deals is unusually expensive because the asset walks. Producers who hear the agency is for sale take calls from the consolidator that just lost the auction, and each one who leaves takes a block of accounts with them. Clients who hear it from anywhere other than you start shopping at renewal, and a carrier that hears you may be changing hands can slow a profit-sharing decision or revisit an appointment. Email attachments cannot be recalled, cannot be watermarked, and tell you nothing about who actually opened them.

## Data room for insurance M&A

![insurance M&A data room used by insurance investment bankers](https://img.papermarkassets.com/upload/file_35DtVER7SdS1G6unRE8unv-papermark-data-room.png)

_Folder-level permissions let an adviser open the general file to fifteen consolidators and producer contracts to two._

A **data room for insurance M&A** is the permissioned workspace where your adviser stages the diligence file and runs several consolidators through it at once, without any of them seeing what the others see. It is what advisers mean when they ask whether your documents are ready before they take the mandate.

Papermark is a secure, fully customizable, and developer-friendly data room built for exactly this: a **secure data room for your insurance M&A process** that keeps the sensitive parts of the file locked while the process runs. NDA agreements sit on the link itself, so a competing agency signs before your commission detail renders. Dynamic watermarking burns each viewer's email and the timestamp onto every page, which matters when the file contains a producer roster a rival would happily recruit from. Granular file-level permissions let your adviser open the general folder to fifteen consolidators while producer agreements and account level detail stay locked to the final two.

Page-by-page analytics tell your adviser where interest is real. When one platform spends twenty minutes on the retention analysis and another has not opened the room since day two, the follow-up list writes itself. The audit log records every view and download, which is useful when the same consolidators bid on your competitors next quarter.

The [Data Rooms plan](https://www.papermark.com/pricing.md?view=datarooms) is **€149/month**, or **€99/month billed annually**, with a 7-day free trial, and includes 3 team members, unlimited data rooms, unlimited documents, a custom domain, dynamic watermarking, NDA agreements, and granular file-level permissions. Open a [secure data room](https://www.papermark.com/data-room.md) before the teaser goes out and reuse it through diligence.

### Why Papermark as a data room provider for M&A

Most virtual data rooms were built for bankers and priced for them. Papermark is a **secure data room for modern dealmakers**, and it is more customizable and more branded than any other VDR on the market.

- **Security first.** SOC 2 Type II, granular file-level permissions, dynamic watermarking on every page, and NDA agreements that sit on the link itself.
- **Open source and self-hostable.** The codebase is public, and Enterprise can run it in your own environment, which matters when a buyer's IT team asks where the documents actually live.
- **Branded and white-labelled.** Custom domain and full white-labelling, so the room carries your firm's name rather than a vendor's.
- **AI and MCP.** 43 typed MCP tools over the Model Context Protocol let Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT or your own code drive the room, plus a REST API for everything else.
- **Chat with your data room.** Papermark AI answers questions across the room and the documents in it, so you are not scrolling a folder tree to find one clause.
- **Built for insurance deals.** Permissions are set per file, so your book of business and carrier appointments can stay locked while the general file stays open.

## Did not find the right insurance investment banker?

If your agency is too small for these firms, or you want a valuation view before signing an exclusive, the alternative is approaching consolidators directly with insurance counsel and an accountant supporting you.

If none of the thirteen above fits, the [M&A advisors database](https://www.papermark.com/ma-advisors) lists every firm we have researched by city and by industry, with deal sizes and sectors side by side. Filter to **insurance** to compare these thirteen against each other, or check your metro if you would rather work with an adviser locally.

## FAQ

### What do insurance investment bankers charge?

Success fees on agency sales generally run 2% to 6% of enterprise value, with smaller deals at the higher end. Larger mandates add a retainer of $10,000 to $50,000 a month, usually credited against the success fee.

### What multiple does an insurance agency sell for?

Quality retail agencies commonly trade at 8x to 12x pro forma EBITDA, with larger platforms above $5M of EBITDA reaching the mid teens. Smaller books with owner dependence and weak retention often clear at 5x to 7x.

### How is pro forma EBITDA calculated for an agency?

Start with reported earnings, then normalise owner compensation to a market rate, remove personal expenses, and adjust for producer commission changes after closing. The gap between a seller's and a buyer's pro forma figure is frequently 15% to 30%, and it is where most negotiations happen.

### Why are private equity firms buying insurance agencies?

Commission revenue is recurring, retention often exceeds 90%, and capital requirements are low. Consolidators buy small agencies at 8x to 10x and are themselves valued in the mid teens or higher, so the multiple arbitrage plus scale drives the return.

### How long does it take to sell an insurance agency?

Six to nine months from engagement to close is typical. Preparation runs four to eight weeks, marketing and indications another eight to ten, and diligence 45 to 90 days because carrier appointments and licensing checks run in parallel.

### What is a perpetuation plan?

It is an internal sale to producers or the next generation of management, usually financed with bank debt over five to ten years. It normally prices below what a consolidator would pay, and owners weigh that discount against keeping the agency independent.

### Do buyers use earn outs in insurance deals?

Frequently. A typical structure pays 70% to 85% at closing with the balance tied to retention or new business over two to three years. Earn outs are more common when the owner writes a large share of the book personally.

### What documents do buyers request in insurance diligence?

Expect 100 to 250 requests covering the commission ledger by carrier and producer, retention analysis, carrier appointments and contingent agreements, state licences, producer contracts, errors and omissions history and the standard financial set.

### Does contingent commission income count toward valuation?

Partly. Buyers usually apply a haircut or average contingent and supplemental income over three years because it is volatile and depends on carrier loss ratios. Do not assume a peak year is capitalised at the same multiple as core commission.

### Can I sell my agency without an adviser?

Yes, and consolidators will happily transact directly. The risk is that a professional buyer closing dozens of deals a year negotiates against an owner selling once, and a competitive process typically brings five to ten bidders rather than one.

## Related resources

- [M&A advisors database](https://www.papermark.com/ma-advisors) with every firm we have researched, by city and by industry
- [Best virtual data rooms](https://www.papermark.com/blog/best-virtual-data-rooms.md) for comparing providers before you go to market
- [Papermark data room](https://www.papermark.com/data-room.md) for sharing your teaser and diligence file securely
- [M&A due diligence checklist](https://www.papermark.com/blog/m-and-a-due-diligence-checklist.md) with the full request list
- [Selling to private equity](https://www.papermark.com/blog/selling-to-private-equity-yes-or-no.md) for owners weighing a consolidator deal
- [Insurance investors](https://www.papermark.com/blog/insurance-investors.md) for founders raising capital rather than selling

---

_Markdown version of [this article](https://www.papermark.com/blog/best-insurance-ma-advisors) for AI agents and LLMs._
_More Papermark content: [llms.txt](https://www.papermark.com/llms.txt) · [full index](https://www.papermark.com/llms-full.txt)._