Brown & Brown Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Accession Risk Management, the parent company of prominent specialty insurance brokerage Risk Strategies and wholesale platform One80 Intermediaries, in a deal valued at approximately $9.8 billion.
Brown & Brown, headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, will acquire RSC Topco Inc., the parent holding company of Boston-based Accession—one of the largest privately held insurance brokerages in the United States.
In 2024, Risk Strategies secured the 11th position on Insurance Journal’s Top 100 Property/Casualty Agencies list.
Following the anticipated closing of the transaction in the third quarter, the Risk Strategies team will integrate into Brown & Brown’s retail segment. John Mina, CEO of Accession, will join the senior leadership team within the retail division.
To support its programs and wholesale brokerage operations, Brown & Brown announced the formation of a new Specialty Distribution segment, to be co-led by Steve Boyd and Chris Walker. One80 will become part of this newly established segment, with Matt Power joining its senior leadership team. Founded in 1997, Accession employs more than 5,300 professionals across the U.S. and Canada.
In 2024, the company reported approximately $1.7 billion in revenue.
According to its most recent inclusion in Insurance Journal’s Top 100 Property/Casualty Agencies list, Risk Strategies generated around $1.3 billion in P/C revenue for the year.
In total, the group wrote $8.55 billion in premiums in 2024, including approximately $7.8 billion in commercial lines. “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,” said J. Powell Brown, president and CEO of Brown & Brown, in a statement June 10.
“The brokerage business built by Mike Christian and John Mina and the wholesaler and program manager business built by Matthew F. Power bring complementary and added capabilities that, when aligned with the broader Brown & Brown organization, further position us to extend our reach and consistently deliver for our customers through enhanced market relationships and expanded offerings,” Brown added. “We are confident we will be better together as a combined organization.”
“As we began contemplating the next major leap in our journey, we were adamant that any potential partner must have the capability and conviction to strengthen our ability to create an industry powerhouse, win amid industry consolidation, lead through innovation and champion our cultural values,” said Mina. “We are pleased to have found that in Brown & Brown.
Brown & Brown, ranked as the seventh-largest global insurance broker by AM Best in 2024 with nearly $4.3 billion in revenue, has joined the wave of major M&A activity among the industry's top players. Earlier this year, Arthur J. Gallagher made headlines with its $13.45 billion all-cash deal to acquire AssuredPartners, aiming to strengthen its presence in the U.S. middle market.
That move followed two other major transactions: Marsh McLennan’s $7.75 billion acquisition of McGriff Insurance Services in November 2023, and Aon’s $13 billion purchase of middle-market property/casualty broker NFP, completed in April. In 2024, Arthur J. Gallagher finalized its $1.2 billion acquisition of Woodruff Sawyer.
According to investment banking and financial advisory firm OPTIS Partners, the first quarter of 2025 marked the slowest period for insurance agency mergers and acquisitions since the second quarter of 2020. Nevertheless, OPTIS Partners viewed the Gallagher-Woodruff Sawyer transaction as an early indicator of increased ‘mega deals’ expected throughout 2025.
Sure: insurancejournal.com
