3.3.3.4Vertical

Managing General Agents (MGA)

Wholesale insurance intermediaries with underwriting authority.

Market snapshot

These figures describe Insurance Brokerage & Distribution (3.3.3), the segment that Managing General Agents (MGA) sits within. They are not figures for Managing General Agents (MGA) on its own.

Market size
~$203B
Growth
~6.9%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~123,077 firms
Firms by employee count

96.9% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 119,268 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe3,809 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
2,79673%
100–499
58915%
500+
42411%

The most actively consolidated market in all of M&A. Recurring commission revenue, high retention, and capital-light economics have made brokerage a perennial roll-up: PE-backed consolidators (Acrisure, HUB, USI, AssuredPartners, BroadStreet) execute hundreds of deals a year against a base of ~123,000 mostly-tiny agencies. 'Companies' are agency firms, not the carriers behind the coverage; scale improves carrier leverage, data, and cross-sell.

NAICS 524210, 524298. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

Commissions and fees on placed coverage

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$1,649,121
Revenue per employee
$232,840
Employees per firm
6.8
Recurring revenue
High

renewing commissions with strong retention

EBITDA margin
20–30%
Capex intensity
Low

Characteristics

  • Balanced cost base: payroll is 34% of revenue, leaving room to scale margin without cutting staff
  • Deep strategic-buyer pool: 424 firms exceed 500 employees, so a scaled asset has trade buyers
  • The marquee roll-up, built on recurring commissions and high retention.
  • PE consolidators executing hundreds of deals a year.
  • Scale improves carrier leverage, data, and cross-sell.

NAICS 524210, 524298. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

M&A deal context

Deal activityHigh

Who’s acquiring

  • Global & national broker consolidators
  • PE-backed brokerage platforms
  • MGA & program acquirers

What’s driving deals

  • Relentless roll-up of regional and local agencies.
  • Recurring commissions and high retention.
  • Scale advantages in carrier leverage and data.

Find Managing General Agents (MGA) acquisition targets

Search Acquisera’s index for companies classified under Managing General Agents (MGA) (3.3.3.4) and build a targeted deal pipeline.

Search companies