The international rating agency A.M. Best has published its 2026 list of the world's largest insurance brokerage firms.

The report indicates that the scale of leading global insurance brokers continues to expand. Marsh has held the top spot for 16 consecutive years with revenues of $26.98 billion, followed by Aon, Gallagher, and Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (WTW) in positions two through four. Brown & Brown vaulted into fifth place after a massive $9.83 billion acquisition.

A notable point of interest in this year's list is the complete absence of any Chinese insurance brokerage firm from the top 20 globally.

At one time, Fanhua was the only Asian company in the top 20. However, as the scale of global leaders has expanded, Chinese insurance brokers have been absent from this ranking for several years now.

Higher Revenue Threshold

According to the A.M. Best ranking, the entry barrier for the global brokerage industry is rising quickly. This year, the 20th-ranked firm, OneDigital, reported revenues of $1.25 billion. Data from industry media Beinsure shows that the total revenue of the world's top 20 insurance brokers in 2026 reached approximately $109.6 billion, significantly raising the bar for entry.

In contrast, China's domestic market had 2,539 specialized insurance intermediary institutions in 2024. While these intermediaries generated total premium income of 5.1 trillion yuan, the overall net profit for the professional intermediary channel was only 4.727 billion yuan, a 20.94% decline from the previous year. The average profit margin for the industry was just 2.85%. China's largest insurance broker, Mingya, reported annual revenue of approximately 3.66 billion yuan (about $500 million), which is less than 1/50th of Marsh's revenue and roughly one-third of the entry threshold for the global top 20.

Selling Insurance vs. Managing Risk

If the revenue gap is the tip of the iceberg, the underlying structural differences are more concerning.

First, there is a fundamental difference in positioning. Global leaders have moved beyond simply "selling insurance" and have pivoted to "risk management." For example, Marsh reported a net profit of $4.2 billion in 2025, while Aon's organic revenue has grown by 6% annually for two consecutive years. Corporate clients are now purchasing not just a policy but a comprehensive suite of services, including risk consulting, employee benefits, cybersecurity protection, and climate risk management.

However, most Chinese intermediary firms remain trapped in a "channel distribution, commission-driven" model. It is common to see billions in revenue generated by fewer than 100 people or even single-digit teams. This is essentially monetizing internet traffic rather than offering a premium for professional services.

Second, there is a significant disparity in M&A integration capabilities. The growth of global giants is a history of acquisitions. Aon spent $13 billion to acquire NFP, Brown & Brown used $9.83 billion to buy Accession, and Acrisure completed hundreds of acquisitions in a decade. In contrast, M&A activity in China's brokerage industry remains at the stage of small equity transfers, with a regulatory push to "clean up and improve quality" accelerating the elimination of non-compliant entities.

Third, international expansion is virtually non-existent. Howden has expanded from London to 55 other countries, and a quarter of Lockton's revenue comes from abroad. Chinese brokerage firms have almost no meaningful overseas business. The significant risk management needs of Chinese enterprises along the Belt and Road Initiative represent the most obvious gap in this area.

Fourth, profit models are under pressure. Under the regulatory crackdown on "reporting and execution consistency," intermediaries relying on channel business are seeing their profit margins shrink rapidly, with some falling below 2%. Firms that can provide professional value-added services like risk consulting and solution design maintain stronger profitability.

A Challenge and an Opportunity

Challenges coexist with opportunities. In 2024, there were 1,671 professional insurance agency firms and 491 brokerage firms in China. The top 20 firms accounted for over 56% of the total premium income and 68% of the net profit among the top 100, accelerating the "Matthew effect" of the strong getting stronger.

Platform-based institutions like Ant Insurance and Ping An Chuangzhan reported insurance premium revenues of 9.43 billion yuan and 5.69 billion yuan, respectively. The growth rates of platform-based brokers like JD.com and Yuanbao are rare globally, and Mingya has built a team of over 30,000 agents. These data points prove that Chinese institutions have advantages in digital customer acquisition and internet scenario-based insurance.

A.M. Best's report reveals that over 30,000 independent insurance brokerage firms in the US have annual revenues of less than $1.25 million, and most lack long-term sustainability. While the number of M&A deals declined in 2025, the value of large transactions surged. This indicates that the industry shake-up is far from over globally.

For China's insurance intermediaries, the path forward involves three critical transitions: shifting from "holding a license is king" to "operational excellence is king," from "selling policies" to "managing risk," and from "monetizing traffic" to "earning a professional premium." These are both a benchmark and an inevitable journey.

The top ten global brokers control over 70% of the market share, a structure unlikely to change in the short term. However, as the world's second-largest insurance market, China should be more than just a producer of premiums. It should become an exporter of risk management wisdom. This journey is only just beginning.