Your broker may have a new owner. Here is what to ask.

Many business owners have used the same insurance agency for years and never thought about who owns it. That is changing. OPTIS Partners, a firm that tracks agency sales, recorded 292 acquisitions of insurance agencies and brokerages in the first half of 2026.

That is down 15 percent from 342 deals in the first half of 2025 and 24 percent below the previous five-year average, according to OPTIS. It is also the slowest start to a year since 2016. Fewer deals still means close to 300 agencies changed hands in six months.

Who is buying

OPTIS reports that private-equity-backed and hybrid buyers were responsible for nearly 75 percent of all announced transactions over the past 12 months, and 80 percent in the most recent quarter. It also found that 10 firms accounted for 45 percent of first-half deals.

OPTIS adds that a very large number of firms will still need to sell over the next five to ten years. In other words, this is not a one-time wave.

What a sale means for you

Your policy is a contract with the insurance company, not with the agency, so a sale of your broker does not by itself change your coverage or your premium. What can change is the service around it: who answers your calls, who handles claims questions, which insurers the agency offers, and how the agency is paid.

None of that is automatically good or bad. A larger owner may bring more insurer relationships and more staff. A sale can also bring new systems and new faces. The point is to notice it and ask.

Questions to ask your broker

• Has the agency been sold, or is a sale planned? Who owns it today?
• Will my account manager and the person who handles claims stay the same?
• Will the insurers you place my business with change? Can I see the list of insurers you quote?
• How is the agency paid on my account: a commission, a fee, or both, and does that change?
• Will my renewal be shopped to other insurers, and can I see the quotes you got?

If you do not like the answers, you can ask other brokers for a quote. The NAIC advises business owners to make sure their agent is familiar with their business and to compare equivalent coverage from several insurers.

What changes, and what does not

Property and casualty agencies, the kind that sell business insurance, were the biggest group of sellers. Insurance Journal reports that 198 of the 292 deals, or 68 percent, involved property and casualty agencies. If you buy commercial insurance, your broker is in the pool of businesses being sold.

When an agency is sold, clients usually hear about it in a letter or an email. Read it. Look for a new name on the invoice, a new place to send payments and any new terms on service. If you were happy with your account manager, ask whether that person is staying.