Insurance M&A and Consolidation in Italy
Scale, specialisation and operating capability are reshaping insurance distribution. But acquiring intermediaries and building a platform are two different things.
In this article
- A market that is accelerating
- Buying companies is not yet building a platform
- Fragmentation is an opportunity, but not all fragmentation is actionable
- From multiples to industrial quality
- Technology as infrastructure
- Capital matters. But it does not need to build everything from scratch.
- The ASSINOVA thesis
- Sources
A market that is accelerating
Italian insurance distribution M&A has accelerated materially. Monitor Deloitte described 2025 as a record year for brokerage M&A in Italy, as distribution increasingly moves towards industrial transformation, scale and integration.
Buying companies is not yet building a platform
A traditional roll-up thesis can look simple: acquire fragmented operators, aggregate revenue and EBITDA, centralise selected functions and benefit from scale. In Italian insurance distribution, that alone may be insufficient.
MarshBerry highlights selectivity, regional presence, specialist capability and access to insurance capacity. A portfolio of investments does not automatically become an industrial platform.
Fragmentation is an opportunity, but not all fragmentation is actionable
A large universe of intermediaries is not the same as proprietary deal flow. Portfolio quality, retention, carrier relationships, management dependency, succession and shareholders’ genuine willingness to engage determine whether a name can become an executable opportunity.
From multiples to industrial quality
The multiple is an output of valuation, not the industrial thesis. Businesses with similar EBITDA can have materially different value when revenue quality, concentration, specialisation, technology, compliance and integration potential are considered.
Technology as infrastructure
Technology creates value when acquired businesses can progressively operate as a system: comparable portfolios, shared workflows, KPIs, reporting, controls and APIs can provide a common foundation without erasing commercial identity.
Capital matters. But it does not need to build everything from scratch.
Building origination, insurance expertise, technology, compliance and integration capability internally takes time. An alternative is to connect capital with existing capabilities while keeping responsibilities, governance and investment decisions separate and transparent.
The ASSINOVA thesis
Insurance consolidation is not a collection of acquisitions. It is an industrial project.
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