Business Breakdowns
Episode 225 PE Perspective on Insurance Brokers
Business Breakdowns

Episode 225: PE Perspective on Insurance Brokers

Business Breakdowns

Episode 225

PE Perspective on Insurance Brokers

Aaron Cohen is the Managing Director of the Financial Services and Technology Group at GTCR. We cover how brokers are winning the battle against insurance carriers, why proven leadership makes such a difference in this sector, and the remarkable story of building Assured Partners from the ground up - twice.

Show Notes

(00:00:00) Welccome to Business Breakdowns

(00:03:34) GTCR's Investment Strategy

(00:05:31) Importance of Leadership in Investments

(00:10:04) Insurance Brokerage Industry Insights

(00:12:52) Changes and Trends in Insurance Brokerage

(00:27:49) Role of Technology in Insurance

(00:31:25) The Challenges of System Integration

(00:32:52) Revenue Growth in the Insurance Industry

(00:33:39) The Impact of Social Inflation

(00:34:25) Emerging Risks and Cybersecurity

(00:35:12) Insurance Brokers and Revenue Models

(00:40:45) Financial Metrics and EBITDA Margins

(00:42:58) Private Equity and Insurance Brokerage

(00:45:49) The Assured Partners Story

(00:54:16) Risks and Market Cycles in Insurance

(00:57:35) Regulation and Industry Stability

(00:58:49) Lessons From This Industry

PE Perspective on Insurance Brokers

Introduction

Matt
My guest is Aaron Cohen, Head of the Financial Services and Technology Group at GTCR, and our topic is Insurance Brokers. Now, I was initially intrigued by Aaron and GTCR after seeing their announced $13 billion sale of Assured Partners to Arthur J. Gallagher, an incredible success story in the insurance brokerage space that we covered in a previous breakdown. But what I failed to appreciate, and you will hear Aaron correct me in the episode, is that not only did GTCR own Assured through two separate periods, they actually built the business with CEO Jim Henderson from the ground up.

So we get into GTCR's approach to scaling businesses. We use the lens of insurance brokerage, but we get into the nuances of their leadership strategy and why this space is so attractive to the PE market. The last thing I need to highlight—if you listen to these episodes, you know my frustration with not acknowledging risks to a business thesis.

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