Sell my insurance agency
Insurance agencies are some of the most sought-after businesses in the lower middle market, and for a simple reason: a well-retained book throws off commission year after year without much new selling. If you've built that kind of book, buyers want it. Here's what your agency is likely worth, who's buying, what moves the price, and how to run a sale that gets you a fair number.
What insurance agencies sell for
Most agency deals come down to a measure of profit times a multiple. For agencies with staff and producers in place, that profit figure is usually EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), normalized for the owner's compensation and any personal add-backs. As an indicative range, insurance agencies tend to trade around 5.0–9.0x EBITDA in the lower middle market.
You'll also hear agencies talked about as a multiple of revenue, or of the book of business. That framing is really a shorthand for the same thing. Because so much of an agency's revenue is recurring renewal commission, buyers will cross-check the EBITDA figure against the size and quality of the book. The revenue lens is a useful sanity check, but the earnings multiple is what actually drives the price, and the recurring nature of those renewals is exactly why agencies sit higher than a lot of other service businesses.
| Agency profile | Indicative multiple | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Smaller, owner-dependent book, some concentration | ~5.0–6.0x | EBITDA |
| Balanced carrier mix, solid retention, producers in place | ~6.0–7.5x | EBITDA |
| Strong persistency, recurring commission, low owner dependence | ~7.5–9.0x | EBITDA |
Indicative lower-middle-market ranges, not a valuation. See our EBITDA & SDE multiples by industry report for the full breakdown, or run your numbers through the valuation calculator.
Who's buying insurance agencies right now
The demand side is deep and it has been for years. A few kinds of buyers are active, and they don't all value your book the same way.
- National brokers and PE-backed aggregators. A wave of well-capitalized aggregators, many of them private-equity-backed, has spent years rolling up agencies into national platforms. They're buying scale and recurring commission, so they'll often pay the most for a clean, well-retained book, especially if it fits a platform's line of business or geography.
- Regional agencies. Established regional players buy to add lines, enter a new market, or pick up density where they already operate. They know the business cold, so diligence can move quickly, and they value a book they can fold into an existing service team.
- Local agencies and individual buyers. For smaller books, you'll also see neighboring agencies and individual operators looking to grow by acquisition. They tend to pay less than the aggregators but can be a good fit if you care who ends up serving your clients.
The practical takeaway: don't sell to the first acquirer who calls. Different buyers will value the same book differently, and the only way to find out who values yours most is to put it in front of several of them at once.
What drives an insurance agency's multiple
Where you land in that 5.0–9.0x range comes down to a handful of things buyers underwrite carefully.
- Retention and persistency. This is the big one. How reliably do your renewals stick year after year? A book with high retention is predictable cash flow, and predictable cash flow is what earns a premium. Weak or unknown retention is the fastest way to a lower number.
- Carrier mix. A balanced spread across several carriers is far safer than a book that leans heavily on one. Carrier concentration means a single contingency, appointment change, or rate action can swing your economics, and buyers price that risk in.
- Commission vs. fee income. The makeup of your revenue matters. Recurring renewal commission is the steady core buyers want. Fee income and contingent or profit-sharing payments are valued more cautiously because they can be lumpier or less certain to recur.
- Producer dependence. If a large share of the book follows one or two producers, a buyer is exposed to those people leaving and taking clients with them. Books spread across a stable team, with documented relationships, are worth more.
- P&C vs. benefits. Property and casualty, commercial lines, and employee benefits each behave differently in terms of retention, regulation, and commission structure. Where your book sits shapes which buyers are interested and what they'll pay, and a focused, well-understood book usually prices cleaner than a scattered one.
- Clean financials. Reviewed books, documented add-backs, and clear separation of business and personal expenses hold their value through diligence. Messy books get discounted, or kill deals outright.
You can move several of these before you ever go to market. That's the whole idea behind building value before you sell. A year or two of improving retention, diversifying carriers, and spreading client relationships across your team can shift you toward the top of the range.
The selling process and timeline
Selling an insurance agency isn't one event. It's a process that, done right, takes most owners somewhere between six and twelve months. Here's the shape of it:
- Get a real valuation. Start with an honest number based on your actual financials, your retention data, and current comps, not a revenue rule of thumb or a number a peer got.
- Prepare. Clean up the books, document the book of business by carrier and line, and reduce the parts that depend entirely on you or a single producer. This is also where you fix anything obviously dragging the multiple down.
- Go to market. A specialized advisor packages the agency, reaches out to qualified buyers confidentially, and runs a process so you're comparing offers rather than taking the only one.
- Negotiate and sign a letter of intent. You pick a buyer, agree on price and structure, and move into exclusivity. Agency deals often include retention-based earnouts, so structure matters as much as headline price.
- Diligence and close. The buyer verifies retention, carrier appointments, and the financials. Clean records make this stretch fast; messy ones make it painful. Then you close and get paid.
The single biggest thing that speeds all of this up is preparation. Agencies with clean financials and well-documented, well-retained books move through diligence faster and lose fewer deals along the way.
You don't need to pay a big retainer to find out
A lot of owners assume hiring an M&A advisor means writing a fat retainer check before anyone's even valued the agency. That's the old model, and it's not your only option. Plenty of capable advisory firms work on a success basis. They get paid when your deal closes, not before. That structure keeps everyone pointed at the same goal: closing your sale at a good price.
The hard part has always been figuring out which firms are any good, which ones actually close insurance agency deals, and which ones will take you on at your size without a big upfront fee. That's the gap we built ProCloser to fill.
How ProCloser matches agency owners to vetted advisors
Tell us about your agency: size, lines of business, how your revenue splits between commission and fees, your retention picture, roughly where your earnings land. We match you with vetted M&A advisory firms that close deals in the insurance space, including no-retainer, success-only options. You get an introduction and a free, confidential indicative valuation as part of the process. From there you decide who, if anyone, to work with.
It's free to sellers and it's confidential. No obligation, no retainer to find out what your agency could be worth and who'd want it.
New to all of this? Start with the broader guide to selling your business, then come back and get matched when you're ready.
Insurance agency seller FAQ
What is my insurance agency worth?
Take your normalized annual EBITDA and apply a multiple. As an indicative range, insurance agencies tend to trade around 5.0–9.0x EBITDA. A larger agency with high retention, recurring commission income, and low producer dependence sits toward the top; a smaller, owner-dependent book with concentration sits toward the bottom. Buyers cross-check the figure against the book of business on a revenue basis. Run your numbers through the valuation calculator, then get it reviewed for a defensible figure.
What multiple do insurance agencies sell for?
As an indicative range, roughly 5.0–9.0x EBITDA in the lower middle market, with recurring renewal commissions supporting the higher end relative to many service businesses. Strong retention and persistency, a balanced carrier mix, recurring commission income, and low producer dependence push you toward the high end. Carrier or producer concentration, weak retention, and owner dependence pull you toward the low end.
Who buys insurance agencies?
The most active buyers are national brokers and private-equity-backed aggregators consolidating the agency space, plus regional and local agencies acquiring to add scale, lines, or geography. Each values your book differently, which is why running a competitive process matters.
How do I sell my insurance agency?
Get a realistic valuation, clean up your financials, document the book by carrier and line, and reduce producer and owner dependence so the renewals don't walk. Then run a confidential process with multiple qualified buyers. A specialized advisor handles the marketing, outreach, negotiation, and diligence. Get matched with a vetted firm, including no-retainer options.
How is book of business value calculated?
Book of business is usually discussed as a multiple of recurring commission revenue, which works as a cross-check alongside the EBITDA multiple that drives most agency deals. The real driver is persistency: how reliably those renewals recur. A diversified, well-retained book that isn't tied to one departing producer is worth more per dollar of revenue. Treat any revenue rule of thumb as a starting point and let an advisor underwrite the actual numbers.
See what your insurance agency is worth.
We'll match you with a vetted M&A advisor who closes insurance agency deals, and give you a free, confidential indicative valuation. Free to sellers. No retainer to find out.
Tania leads ProCloser's network of vetted M&A advisory firms and works with business owners every week on valuation, fit, and getting matched to the right advisor to sell. Get matched free.