North American insurance M&A activity stable in Q2 2025

North American insurance deal activity was relatively flat in the second quarter of 2025 from the previous three months, even as one large broker acquisition pushed the number for overall deal value up significantly.

There were 125 deals involving insurers in the period totaling $9.85 billion, compared to $6.65 billion from 123 transactions in the first quarter.

The deal volume figure was marginally better than M&A trends in the broader US and Canadian markets, where both deal aggregate values and deal totals fell as companies increasingly adopted a more cautious approach to dealmaking amid ongoing economic uncertainty.

– In Play Today highlights potential mergers and acquisitions in the global insurance sector, while M&A Replay presents a summary of recently announced deals. – Discover the latest trends in insurance M&A across Asia-Pacific and the US broker market. – Access deep dives into insurance transactions across the globe via our Deal Profile feature.

Broker deals

The largest broker deal announced in the quarter — and the source of most of the aggregate transaction value — was Brown & Brown Inc.'s acquisition of RSC Topco Inc. from Kelso & Company LP for $9.83 billion.

RSC, which operates as a holding company, through its subsidiaries provides insurance brokerage, wholesale brokerage, insurance programs and professional services serving a wide range of medium-sized domestic and international commercial businesses. Accession, one of its subsidiaries, was the ninth-largest privately held insurance brokerage in the US at the time of the deal, per a news release from Brown & Brown, and is itself the parent company of specialty brokerage firm Risk Strategies and insurance wholesaler One80 Intermediaries.

"Combining with Risk Strategies and One80 represents a unique opportunity to bring the best of both organizations to the forefront, enabling us to augment and strengthen our collective growth," J. Powell Brown, president and CEO of Brown & Brown, said in the release.

The second-largest North American insurance broker deal announced in the second quarter was unusual: Reliance Global Holdings LLC sold Fortman Insurance Agency LLC back to the company's original operators for $5 million.

"The buyer is the same entity and operators that previously sold [Reliance] the agency in 2019," a spokesperson for Reliance clarified in an email. "The operators of Fortman became employees of [Reliance] in 2019 and then reacquired the agency back in 2025."

Underwriter activity

Among the notable deals involving underwriters during the second quarter was The Baldwin Insurance Group Inc.'s acquisition of Multi-Strat Holdings Ltd. for $12.8 million.

Other notable deals include Nice Healthcare Management Company Inc.'s acquisition of Decent Inc., Federal Life Insurance Co.'s acquisition of Texas Service Life Insurance Co. and Stonetrust Commercial Insurance Co.'s purchase of Southern Vanguard Insurance Co.