Insurance Brokerage & Risk

Insurance brokerage is a $300+ billion global industry where firms act as intermediaries between businesses seeking coverage and the insurance carriers that underwrite risk. Brokers do not bear underwriting risk — they earn fees for placing policies, advising on risk management, and negotiating coverage terms on behalf of clients. The five publicly traded leaders — Marsh McLennan ($24.5B revenue, FY2024), Aon ($15.7B), Willis Towers Watson ($9.5B), Arthur J. Gallagher ($11.5B), and Brown & Brown ($4.8B) — collectively place hundreds of billions in premiums annually. The buyer is typically a CFO, risk manager, or general counsel at a mid-market or large enterprise seeking to transfer risk efficiently. The broker's value is information asymmetry: deep knowledge of carrier appetites, pricing dynamics, and coverage structures that the buyer cannot replicate in-house.