Top global insurance brokers post $122 billion as growth slows

The 20 largest insurance and reinsurance brokers generated about $122 billion in combined revenue in 2025, led by Marsh, Aon and Arthur J. Gallagher. The latest data shows a more concentrated market, slower organic growth and more selective dealmaking as falling commercial insurance rates pressure commissions.

Why it matters: - The brokerage market is still generating large-scale revenue, but growth is getting harder to win as pricing softens. - Lower commercial insurance rates can reduce commission income, which makes new business, retention and fee-based services more important. - Consolidation is continuing, but buyers are becoming more selective as financing costs and organic growth pressure reshape valuations.

What happened: - The world's 20 largest insurance and reinsurance brokers produced about $122 billion in combined revenue in 2025, based on Beinsure and AM Best data. - Marsh remained the largest global broker, followed by Aon, Arthur J. Gallagher and WTW. - The ranking reflects consolidated revenue across brokerage, consulting, risk management and related services, not just brokerage commissions. - Independent research firms estimate the broader global insurance brokerage market at between $125 billion and $336 billion in 2025, depending on methodology.

The details: - Marsh reported $27 billion in consolidated revenue in 2025, up 10%, including $17.3 billion from Risk and Insurance Services. - Marsh's underlying revenue growth was 4%, with acquisitions helping lift reported growth. - Aon generated $17.18 billion in annual revenue, including $8.50 billion from Commercial Risk Solutions, $2.79 billion from Reinsurance Solutions and $3.84 billion from Health Solutions. - Arthur J. Gallagher posted $13.78 billion in consolidated revenue, with $12.19 billion from its Brokerage segment. - WTW reported $9.71 billion in total revenue, including $4.33 billion from Risk & Broking. - Brown & Brown moved into fifth place with $5.90 billion in revenue, up 22.8%, but organic growth was only 2.8%. - Lockton reported about $4.5 billion in revenue for the fiscal year ended April 2026, with 11% organic growth. - Private groups including Alliant Insurance Services, HUB International, Howden, Acrisure and Lockton remained major competitors. - Third-quarter 2026 results showed more modest growth across the top brokers. - Marsh reported 5% underlying revenue growth in Q3 2026. - Aon posted 6% organic growth in Q3 2026. - Gallagher's Brokerage and Risk Management businesses recorded 5% combined organic growth. - WTW reported 4% organic growth, including 5% in Risk & Broking. - Brown & Brown reported 1.2% organic growth in the quarter, even as reported revenue rose 7.4%. - Marsh's Global Insurance Market Index showed commercial insurance rates fell 5% worldwide in Q3 2026, the ninth straight quarterly decline. - Global property insurance rates fell 10%, financial and professional lines declined 3%, cyber insurance prices fell 4% and casualty rates rose 1%, mainly because of pressure in the US market.

Between the lines: - The market is becoming more concentrated, but the revenue totals are not a pure proxy for brokerage fees because the figures include consulting and other services. - Slower premium growth means brokers can no longer rely as heavily on rising insurance rates to expand revenue. - Acquisition-driven growth is still active, but the strongest valuations are increasingly tied to specialist expertise, delegated underwriting authority and recurring revenue. - In the US, independent agencies still control a dominant share of distribution even as the number of agencies declines. - Independent agencies placed 62% of US property and casualty direct written premiums in 2025, up from 61.5% in 2024. - Their share of commercial insurance premiums reached 87.7%, while personal lines penetration rose to 39.5%. - Total US property and casualty direct written premiums reached about $1.1 trillion in 2025, up from $1.05 trillion a year earlier. - The number of independent agencies fell to about 37,000 in September 2026 from 39,000 in 2024. - Even so, three-quarters of surveyed agencies said revenue increased between 2024 and 2025. - Specialty distribution and reinsurance remain bright spots because they are less dependent on broad commercial rate increases.

What's next: - Fortune Business Insights expects global insurance brokerage revenue to reach $137.14 billion in 2026 under its market definition. - The firm projects average annual growth of 9.5% through 2034. - Beinsure expects 2027 performance to depend more on organic growth, client retention, specialist expertise and EBITDA margins than on consolidated revenue expansion. - Private equity is likely to stay active, especially in specialist brokers, MGAs and firms with access to new markets. - Brokers with strength in employee benefits, health insurance, cyber, complex casualty and reinsurance advisory work may have the best diversification opportunities.

The bottom line: - The brokerage industry is still growing, but the next phase looks less like easy expansion and more like a test of operating discipline, specialty capabilities and deal selectivity. - Specialty and reinsurance brokers continue to expand, while the broader market adjusts to slower pricing and tougher comparisons.

The details: - MarshBerry recorded 854 US insurance brokerage acquisitions in 2025, compared with 847 in 2024. - Private capital-backed buyers completed 605 of those transactions, or about 71% of the total. - MarshBerry recorded 473 announced US brokerage transactions through September 2026, about 7.8% below the comparable 2025 period. - FTI Consulting recorded 789 insurance-sector transactions in Europe in 2025, up 14% year over year. - Of those European deals, 596 involved insurance brokers. - The UK and Ireland led European transaction activity, followed by Germany, Austria and Switzerland, then Spain and Portugal. - European insurance M&A fell to 358 transactions in the first half of 2026, down 14% from the second half of 2025. - Brokerage and MGA acquisitions proved more resilient than deals involving insurers and insurance service providers. - MarshBerry reports average guaranteed brokerage acquisition valuations of about 11.5x pro forma EBITDA. - Businesses with delegated underwriting authority, specialist insurance expertise and strong recurring revenue can command higher multiples. - Ryan Specialty reported 2025 revenue of $3.05 billion, up 21.3%, including 6.6% organic growth. - Premiums reported to US surplus lines stamping offices reached $90.3 billion in 2025, up 7.8%. - In the first half of 2026, those premiums rose another 2.8% to $47.6 billion, while transaction volumes increased 16.9%. - Aon Reinsurance Solutions generated $2.79 billion in revenue in 2025, while Marsh Re reported about $2.64 billion. - Gallagher Re and Howden Re also expanded, supported by demand for catastrophe risk management, structured reinsurance and alternative capital solutions. - The article links to the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America's 2026 Market Share Report. - Additional Beinsure rankings are linked for property and casualty insurers, reinsurance groups, cyber insurers, life and health insurers, European insurers, US and Canada insurers, and insurtech unicorns.