The Centre of Gravity in European Insurance M&A Is Shifting, According to FTI Consulting’s Latest European Insurance Barometer
789 Transactions in 2025: A Record Year with More Growth Ahead
London, 12 March 2026 — The European insurance M&A market continued its record-breaking momentum in 2025, with 789 transactions announced across the insurance brokerage, managing general agents (“MGAs”), insurance service provider and carrier sectors, representing a 14% increase in activity compared with 694 deals recorded in 2024, according to analysis by FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN).
However, the firm’s 2025 European Insurance M&A Barometer: Navigating the Changing Shape of European M&A reveals a geographic shift is underway. While the UK and Ireland remained the most active region with 219 deals, volumes were down by 23% year-on-year, making it one of the quietest periods for this market over the past five years.
Continental European markets, including the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), Benelux, Italy, France, Iberia, Central and Eastern Europe and the Nordics saw significant deal activity, with intense competition for premium platforms pushing valuations to as high as 18 times EBITDA in these geographies.
Strategic buyers and PE-backed platforms, as well as PE firms, are increasingly moving away from their conventional roll-up and buy-and-build acquisition strategies. Instead, inorganic growth is being pursued, with more of a targeted focus on specialty brokers and MGAs that can offer scalable, portfolio-wide benefits and diversification by both product and geography.
The DACH region was the second most active region in 2025 with 143 transactions, up 35% on the previous year, reaffirming its position as a core strategic market for both domestic and international consolidators.
“The insurance M&A market in the UK and Ireland has entered a new phase,” said Jeremy Riley, a Senior Advisor in the EMEA Insurance M&A practice at FTI Consulting. “Activity levels remain strong, but there are simply fewer big deals around to command investor attention. We have seen several years of rate-driven revenue growth, however carriers, MGAs and distribution businesses are now operating in soft market conditions where performance will need to come from genuine, underlying growth and delivering operational efficiencies.
“The DACH region continues to set the pace in European insurance M&A, and we are seeing rising levels of activity in areas such as Italy and across Central and Eastern Europe.
“The next chapter in European M&A will be defined by buyers who are more selective, more strategic and increasingly seeking to operate cross-border.”
The report shows insurance brokers and service providers continued to dominate the market, accounting for more than 87% of all European insurance M&A transactions in 2025, with 596 broker deals and 94 service-provider deals completed.
While PE firms remained highly active, the number of transactions completed increased modestly from 61 deals in 2024 to 69 in 2025. The consolidation activity of PE-backed portfolio companies increased from 376 deals in 2024 to 402 in 2025, with this group emerging again as the European market’s leading acquirers.
Non-PE-backed strategic buyers gained further market share, completing 318 deals, up from 257 in 2024, reflecting continued appetite amongst global consolidators and regional operators to use M&A to build scale, fill product gaps and expand geographically.
Mr. Riley continued, “The insurance distribution sector is now defined by unprecedented PE ownership, however, many of these funds are approaching the end of their investment cycles, which will lead to a wave of exits and strategic repositioning in 2026.
“We are also in a period where refinancing needs will create selective buyer opportunities. All this points to an active 2026 market, but one that will favour well-capitalised buyers with clear strategic objectives who can move quickly and can optimise performance under new ownership.”
Regional M&A Activity in 2025
- UK and Ireland — 219 deals, down 23%
- DACH — 143 deals, up 35%
- Iberia — 141 deals, up 21%
- Benelux — 89 deals, up 29%
- Italy — 68 deals, up 119%
- Central and Eastern Europe — 53 deals, up 104%
- France — 48 deals, up 20%
- The Nordics — 28 deals, up 33%
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Source: FTI Consulting, Inc.