Orange County’s largest insurance brokers as a group saw their revenue grow 12% last year, up from a 6.3% jump in 2017. The 23 biggest brokers with headquarters or significant operations here combined for more than $782 million worth of policies.
Eighteen reported revenue increases, including 10 that saw more than 10% growth. Four firms saw a decline.
The Business Journal’s ranking also counts the number of licensed brokers, support staff and companywide offices, though those figures didn’t affect rankings.
Ranked insurance brokers reported property and casualty producers in OC fell 2.13% to 368 while benefit producers climbed 5.12% to 349.
Local support staff increased 7.36% to over 1,900.
Powerful Allies
Top-ranked Alliant Insurance Services Inc. in Newport Beach maintained its spot as the largest insurance broker based in Orange County, reporting that local sales climbed 19% to $169.8 million.
The company has been expanding outside the county through organic and acquisitive growth.
Alliant projects it will finish the year with annual sales of about $1.6 billion, making it one of the 10 largest insurance brokers in the world, according to Chief Executive Tom Corbett.
Other notable elements of the list:
• The Irvine office of No. 2 Marsh Risk & Insurance Services/Mercer grew at a 36% pace, with revenue of $80.7 million.
• Third-placed USI Insurance Services LLC in Irvine increased sales 5.3% to $60.7 million.
• The fastest grower was EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants—the acronym stands for Edgewood Partners Insurance Center—which said revenue surged 65% to $20.6 million, helping it move from No. 17 to No. 13.
The San Francisco-based company, which has an office in Irvine, boosted its property and casualty producers 50% to 12 and doubled its benefit producers to 14 and its local support staff to 50.
• Another fast grower was Burnham Benefits Insurance Services, which climbed 23% to $31.3 million. Burnham climbed from No. 13 a year ago to No. 10.
• Chicago-based HUB International Insurance Services Inc. reported growth slowed to 11% to $35.1 million, compared to a 49% growth a year ago. Ranked No. 8, its Newport Beach office has 128 support staff, up 6.7% from a year ago when it boosted support staff more than 75% to 120.
Declines
Only a few brokers sold less insurance.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had the biggest decline, reporting a 24% drop to $34.5 million. The company fell from No. 4 last year to No. 9. It’s also been reducing its local headcount, such as its property and casualty producers from 17 to 11.
• McGriff Insurance Services of Orange County—previously listed as a unit of BB&T—had a 3.9% decline to about $40 million.
• Brown & Brown Insurance Services of California Inc. declined 7.8% to $10.6 million.
New Blood
The only newcomer was Northwestern Mutual, which ranked No. 16 with $14.6 million, a 4.3% increase from the prior year.
Northwestern isn’t new to the area but it’s begun to raise its profile of late—including the Milwaukee-based parent company winning the Bob Hope Humor award for “most whimsical and amusing float” in this year’s Rose Parade.
