Mergers and acquisitions have helped several insurance brokers rise in the ranks of the global top broking firms, resulting in a shuffle in the bottom half of the top 10.

Acrisure moved from No. 9 to No. 7 in the global rankings; Alliant Insurance Services Inc. jumped from 11th place to the eighth spot; Truist Insurance Holdings Inc. dropped to No. 9 from No. 7; and Lockton moved from No. 8 to No. 10, says Best’s Review which is AM Best’s monthly insurance magazine.

Acrisure led all buyers with 122 M&A transactions in 2021, outpacing its five-year average of 104 deals per year, according to Best Review citing a report by Optis Partners titled “North American Agent & Broker 2021 Year-End Merger & Acquisition Report”.

Alliant’s merger with Confie, which appeared in the No. 19 spot last year, was a contributing factor in its move up the ranking, along with the acquisition of 14 other brokerages. The agreement brings Confie’s family of personal insurance brands, more than 3,500 employees, and more than 1m customers under the Alliant banner, according to a company statement.

Truist’s growth strategy is built around organic growth initiatives—including talent recruitment and development, new technology platforms, and data and analytics innovation—as well as expansion through M&A. The company completed two acquisitions in 2021 with annualised revenue of $164m.

The M&A dealmaking continues in 2022, with an announcement last month that Howden Group Holdings plans to acquire TigerRisk Partners, subject to regulatory approvals.

Top ranking insurance brokers

Meanwhile, Marsh McLennan has retained the No. 1 spot in Best’s Review’s Top Global Insurance Brokers ranking with $19.80bn in total revenue, $7.60bn ahead of second-place Aon. The top five companies in 2022 remained the same as last year.

The top 10 global insurance brokers are listed as follows:

2021 Rank	2020 Rank	Brokerage	2021 total revenue ($ bn)
1	1	Marsh McLennan	19.80
2	2	Aon	12.20
3	3	WTW	9.00
4	4	Arthur J. Gallagher & Co	6.90
5	5	Hub International	3.23
6	6	Brown & Brown Inc	3.05
7	9	Acrisure LLC	2.97
8	11	Alliant Insurance Services	2.90
9	7	Truist Insurance Holdings Inc	2.88
10	8	Lockton Inc	2.80
Source: Best’s Review

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