According to A.M. Best data and research, Marsh McLennan retains the #1 spot in Best’s Review’s Top Global Insurance Brokers ranking 2023 with $19.8 bn in total revenues, $7.6 bn ahead of second-place AON. The expected Aon/WTW combination deal that would have substantially affected this year’s brokers ranking was scuttled last July after regulatory involvement.
According to Beinsure Data, the value of the worldwide market for insurance broking in terms of fees and commissions earned was around USD 160.4 billion in 2023, up from around USD 152 billion in 2022, equivalent to a growth rate of almost 10.5% without adjusting for inflation, but closer to 2% as an inflation-adjusted measure.
In the ranking, the TOP 5 remained the same as last year. However, there was a shuffle in the bottom half of the top 10. Acrisure LLC moved from #9 to #7; Alliant Insurance Services Inc. jumped from 11th place to the eighth spot; Truist Insurance Holdings Inc. dropped to #9 from #7; and Lockton Inc. moved from #8 to #10.
Top 20 Global Insurance & Reinsurance Brokers by Revenue
| № | Re/Insurance Broker | Total Revenue (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marsh McLennan | $19.80 billion |
| 2 | AON | $12.20 billion |
| 3 | WTW | $9.00 billion |
| 4 | Arthur J. Gallagher | $6.90 billion |
| 5 | Hub International | $3.23 billion |
| 6 | Brown & Brown | $3.05 billion |
| 7 | Acrisure | $2.97 billion |
| 8 | Alliant Insurance Services | $2.90 billion |
| 9 | Truist Insurance Holdings | $2.88 billion |
| 10 | Lockton | $2.80 billion |
| 11 | USI Insurance Services | $2.30 billion |
| 12 | AssuredPartners | $2.04 billion |
| 13 | NFP Corp. | $1.90 billion |
| 14 | Amwins Group | $1.80 billion |
| 15 | Howden Group Holdings | $1.57 billion |
| 16 | The Ardonagh Group | $1.30 billion |
| 17 | CBIZ | $1.10 billion |
| 18 | EPIC insurance Brokers & Consultants | $806.1 million |
| 19 | AmeriTrust Group | $667.6 million |
| 20 | Fanhua | $513.3 million |
Source: A.M. Best Company, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Mergers and acquisitions activity continued to grow last year with 1,034 total deals, 30% higher than the 795 recorded in 2023, according to Optis Partners’ North American Agent & Broker Year-End Merger & Acquisition Report. Acrisure led all buyers with 122 transactions in 2021, outpacing its five-year average of 104 deals per year, the report said.
Hub International acquired 72 brokerages including an expansion into the Canadian market. Brown & Brown reports making 19 acquisitions of about $130 million in revenue. NFP closed 22 deals in North America and the United Kingdom.
The dealmaking continued in 2023, with an announcement last month that Howden Group Holdings plans to acquire TigerRisk Partners, subject to regulatory approvals.
The broking market is estimated to have broken down between around USD 68.8 billion due to commercial P&C insurance (non-life) retail broking, USD 14.6 billion to private P&C (non-life) retail broking, USD 50 billion to employee benefits plus life and health insurance retail broking, USD 6.4 billion to reinsurance broking and USD 11.6 billion to wholesale broking.
Noting that these data points omit tied agency and MGA / MGU activity among other elements.
Each of the segments registered a double-digit growth rate during the year apart from employee benefits plus life and health insurance retail broking; indeed, without adjusting for inflation, the top 20 broking groups together achieved an even higher aggregate growth rate of 11.7% albeit this was driven in part by M&A activity.
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Edited & fact-checked by Oleg Parashchak – Editor-in-Chief Beinsure Media, CEO Finance Media Holding.
