How to Sell Your Insurance Agency Without a Broker (2026)
A broker takes 8% to 12% under $1 million. On a $750,000 agency sale that is $60,000 to $90,000. The firms buying agencies are a list of about eight names.
Three things make an agency sale different:
- The buyers are consolidators, and they are public about it. Each has a team paid to find agencies like yours.
- Your carriers decide the timeline. Each one has to approve the new owner, and none of them care who introduced you.
- How many clients stay is the whole valuation. Keep 90% and you get top pricing. Drop under 80% and you lose two turns.
What a Broker Costs on an Agency Sale
These sale prices follow the multiples agencies actually trade at, by size.
| Your agency | Rough sale price | What the broker takes | A lawyer instead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small book, mostly personal | $750,000 | $60,000 to $90,000 | $8,000 to $18,000 |
| Established independent | $2 million | $120,000 to $160,000 | $15,000 to $30,000 |
| Regional, $1M in profit | $8 million | $400,000 to $480,000 | $30,000 to $70,000 |
Most contracts add a minimum fee of $15,000 to $50,000. See the full fee scale by deal size before you sign anything.
The Buyer List Is Already Public
Finding buyers is what a broker sells. In this trade the buyers publish themselves, because buying agencies is their entire growth plan.
Investor-backed firms took 73% of the 695 agency deals announced in 2025. Volume was down from 787 the year before, so buyers are choosier rather than absent.
| Buyer type | Names | What they want | What they pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| National consolidators | Acrisure, Hub, BroadStreet, Alera, Patriot Growth, World | $1M+ profit, commercial or benefits | 7x to 10x profit |
| The largest firms | Gallagher, Brown & Brown | $5M+ profit, or a platform to build on | 10x to 14x profit |
| Regional groups | In Pennsylvania, Keystone Insurers Group | Books outside the big metro areas | 5x to 7x profit |
| A local agency | The independents you already compete with | Small books, personal lines included | 1x to 1.8x commissions |
The scale at the top explains the appetite below it. Gallagher closed its purchase of AssuredPartners for $13.45 billion, about 14 times profit.
A firm valued at 14 times can pay you 8 and still gain on the day it closes. That is why they keep calling.
What the Broker Did, and How You Replace It
| The broker’s job | How you do it |
|---|---|
| Value the book | A free valuation, checked against published agency multiples |
| Build the packet | Commissions by carrier, by line, and how many clients stayed |
| Find the buyers | The table above, plus your state association members |
| Screen them | Ask what they have closed in the last year, and where |
| Keep it confidential | A signed agreement before your producers hear anything |
| Close the deal | A lawyer who has closed agency sales specifically |
Approach several buyers in the same three weeks. Consolidators expect to compete, and a sole bidder will price your book accordingly.
Buyers of the smallest books are often producers going out on their own. They borrow through the government-backed program, which caps at $5 million.
The Parts No Broker Controls
Two things decide whether an agency deal closes on time, and a commission buys you no influence over either.
Your carriers have to approve the buyer
Every carrier re-checks the new owner before it will appoint them. That runs 60 to 120 days per carrier, and it starts after closing.
- Any carrier over 40% of your revenue is a problem. If they will not appoint the buyer, a large slice of your book has nowhere to go.
- Spread new business across carriers in the year before you sell. It is the cheapest thing you can do to protect the price.
- New Jersey adds a state step. The insurance department wants notice of the ownership change, with a filing deadline attached.
You pay for past mistakes on the way out
Cover for errors you made before the sale runs 5 to 7 years past closing. You buy it as a lump sum on the day.
Budget 100% to 300% of one year’s premium. Sellers who learn this late find it eating the cash they expected to walk away with.
What Actually Moves Your Price
- How many clients stay. Keeping 90% or better earns top pricing and more cash at closing. Under 80% costs you two turns.
- What you write. An all-commercial book runs 1.8 to 2.2 times commissions. An all-personal book runs 1.1 to 1.5.
- Whether the book needs you. If clients only know you, buyers discount it however good the numbers look.
- Competing offers. Not a feature of the agency, and still the thing that moves the final number most.
Start moving clients to other staff at least 12 months out. It is the single prep step that pays for itself several times over.
When a Broker Is Worth Paying
- Your book is under $250,000 in commissions. The consolidators will not engage, and finding a local buyer is real work.
- Your commission records are a mess by carrier and line. Somebody has to rebuild them first, either way.
- You are selling on a deadline. Retirement or illness changes the math, and paying for speed is fair.
Above $1 million in profit the fee is hardest to defend. Every consolidator in the table has a team that will take your call.
Compare any quote against the six alternatives to a broker first.
Get Your Agency Numbers Straight First
- What you should get: agency sale multiples and valuation by size.
- Who pays it: who buys agencies, and what each type pays.
- How long it runs: the agency sale timeline.
- What you keep after tax: asset sale versus stock sale.
- Selling in PA or NJ: Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where the tax treatment differs sharply.
For the process in general, see selling a business without a broker and what your business is worth.
Across all trades, sellers who came prepared got 87% of their benchmark price or better in early 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, and it is unusually easy in this trade. Investor-backed consolidators took 73% of the 695 agency deals announced in 2025, and every one of them employs a team paid to find agencies. You pay a lawyer instead of a commission.
8% to 12% under $1 million, 6% to 8% from $1 million to $5 million, and 5% to 6% above that. On a $750,000 sale that is $60,000 to $90,000. Most contracts also carry a $15,000 to $50,000 minimum.
National consolidators like Acrisure, Hub International, BroadStreet Partners, Alera Group, Patriot Growth and World Insurance Associates. Gallagher and Brown & Brown buy the largest firms. In Pennsylvania, Keystone Insurers Group buys regionally.
Sixty to 120 days per carrier, and the clock starts after closing rather than before. Any carrier making up more than 40% of your revenue is a risk, because a refusal leaves a large part of your book stranded.
Cover for errors made before the sale runs 5 to 7 years past closing, bought as a lump sum on the day. Budget 100% to 300% of one year’s premium. Sellers who find out late see it eat their expected proceeds.
Small books sell for 1.0 to 1.8 times annual commissions. Established independents get 5 to 7 times profit, regional agencies 7 to 10 times, and the largest 10 to 14. How many clients stay moves it more than anything else.
Yes. Buying agencies is their growth plan, so an owner making contact is exactly what their teams are there for. Approach several the same week, and get a confidentiality agreement signed before you send commission data.
Under about $250,000 in commissions the national buyers will not engage, and finding a local agency to buy your book is genuine work. That is the case where a broker can earn the fee. Above $1 million in profit, it is hard to defend.
Next Steps
- Work out what share of revenue sits with your largest carrier. Over 40% is the first thing to fix.
- Pull three years of commissions by carrier and by line, plus how many clients stayed each year.
- List the consolidators active in your state, then add the independents you compete with.
- Get a quote for the run-off cover now, so it does not surprise you at closing.
- Get a free valuation and buyer introductions. No commission, no exclusive, no obligation to sell.