Public Brokers’ Organic Growth Dropped From 10% to 3.5%. What’s Behind It?

A friend of mine said I should have started my own agency. Get to a million in premium, sell it, retire early.

He told me the math was simple.

Grow the book, cash the check, move on.

For years, a hard market did the heavy lifting for agencies. Premiums climbed, and revenue rose even when producers were not hunting for new business.

That cycle is fading, and it is changing what separates a thriving agency from one quietly losing ground.

Renewal Growth Is Not the Same as New Growth

Public brokers reported organic growth near 10 percent at the end of 2024.

One year later, that figure had dropped below 3.5 percent.

Same book of business, same renewal strategy, different results.

If the largest firms in insurance are feeling that squeeze, smaller agencies are feeling it too.

The growth that used to show up automatically on renewal day is not showing up the same way anymore.

Staying Independent Takes More Than Holding On

Plenty of agency owners wear independence like a badge.

They fight to keep the business in their own hands year after year, and that fight matters.

Here is the problem: independence without growth is a losing trade. Every year an agency stays flat, it loses value, even if ownership never changes hands.

Staying independent has never been about ownership on paper alone. It has always been about growth.

Selling Insurance and Running an Agency Are Two Different Jobs

Plenty of producers build strong books by being excellent at the sale.

Fewer of them can build an agency that scales because running an agency calls for a different skill set. Leadership, systems, and talent development matter as much as any single sale.

What sets high-value agencies apart:

• They invest in support staff so producers spend time hunting, not managing renewals
• They build leadership below the owner, not just around them
• They track new business separately from renewal revenue, so real growth stays visible

Whether you plan to sell your agency someday or plan to grow it for the long haul, the lesson holds. Growth solves a lot of problems.

The agencies commanding the highest valuations right now are the ones investing in the people, systems, and processes that create predictable organic growth, year after year.

One Question to Ask Your Team This Week

If renewal increases disappeared tomorrow, how would your agency grow?

If the answer makes you uncomfortable, treat that discomfort as useful information. It is pointing at exactly where the strategy needs work.