2025 Best Practices Study

Introduction

In a dynamic and increasingly competitive insurance marketplace, top-performing brokers aren’t just reacting to change—they're anticipating it. Success in this industry requires more than hard work and client relationships; it demands a clear understanding of where your firm stands today and how it can get even better. That’s where the Best Practices Study comes in. Since 1993, the Best Practices Study has offered meaningful performance comparisons to top-performing peer firms across a range of key performance indicators. Whether you're a regional agency or a growing national player, these benchmarks allow you to evaluate your business against high-performing counterparts—firms that are setting the standard for financial strength, operational efficiency, sales growth, client retention, and overall strategic execution. Benchmarking gives context to your numbers. A 10% organic growth rate or 20% EBITDA margin is impressive—but how does that compare to others in your space? Without benchmarks, it’s difficult to know what “good” really looks like, let alone “great.” With them, you gain a clearer view of what’s possible and what you should be aiming for. Benchmarking isn’t just about comparison; it’s about action. These insights can help you pinpoint opportunities for improvement, make more informed decisions, and align your team around realistic, data driven performance goals. Whether you're focused on improving producer productivity, managing expenses, optimizing carrier relationships, or preparing for a future ownership transition, the Study can serve as a guidepost. To ensure relevance for firms of all sizes, the Study reports across seven comparison groups—from very small to very large brokers—allowing you to benchmark your performance against peers with similar scale and structure. This year's Best Practices Study includes two new revenue categories: $25-100M and over $100M. Given the rapid expansion at the high end of the marketplace due to consolidation, this distinction ensures that super-regional and national brokers with revenues over $100 million are accurately represented. Growth and profitability are the foundational benchmarks, but the report includes more than 3,000 data points covering every major dimension of brokerage operations. The result is a comprehensive, actionable resource designed to help you make smarter decisions, sharpen your competitive edge, and position your firm for long-term success. 2025 Best Practices Growth Overview

Healthy organic growth remains the lifeblood of Best Practices agencies. In this year's Study, organic growth for BP agencies remained strong. Even so, in most size categories, organic growth rates dipped from last year’s results. This is a trend to monitor closely.

Organic Growth

11.7%

11.3%

11.3%

11.4%

10.4%

10.4%

10.1%

9.8%

9.7%

9.5%

9.0%

8.7%

5.4%

N/A

<$1.25M $1.25-2.5M $2.5-5M $5-10M $10-25M $25-100M >$100M

2024 2025

2025 Study Highlights

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