Plenty of Investor Interest in Insurance Despite Drop in Deal Volume, Says PwC

Deal volume is down but the total value of the deals that were made is up, according an analysis by PwC of mergers and acquisitions in the insurance sector.

The look at M&A activity showed total deal value within the insurance sector of $30 billion from 209 deals for the six-month period ending May 15. This compares to a value of $20 billion on 297 deals for the prior six-month period ending November 15, 2024.

“The insurance sector continues to be attractive to investors and has remained resilient through challenging market conditions,” said Mark Freidman, insurance deals leader at PWC.

The professional services network added that the insurance industry remains appealing but “uncertainty over the economy and government policy has recently reduced sector deal volume.”

PwC said insurance brokerage activity remains strong due to organic growth, primarily from insurance rate increases. Most recently, Brown & Brown announced it was acquiring the parent company of Risk Strategies and One80 Intermediaries for about $9.8 billion. The deal was struck after the deadline for PwC’s analysis.

Within the six-month timeframe, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced its acquisition of AssuredPartners for $13.5 billion. Also, The Doctors Company acquired ProAssurance Corp., and Munich Re said it bought Next Insurance.

PwC also noted what it called a “backlog” of insurance IPOs (initial public offerings).

“We’ve seen some instances of companies preparing a dual track exit strategy between a public offering and private M&A, but due to the scale of some distribution consolidators, complete exits are proving challenging,” PwC reports.

Still, action is picking up. Aspen in May raised $397.5 million. Florida’s American Integrity filed for an IPO in April. In June, insurtech Slide and New York-based E&S insurer Ategrity announced IPOs.