Close · Insurance Brokerage

Indemnification for Insurance Brokerage Independent Sponsors

Securities and M&A counsel for independent sponsors drafting insurance brokerage transactions, from LOI to close to the capital markets that open up afterward.

EV range $10M to $150M EV EBITDA $3M to $25M Audience Buy-side / Sponsor
The deal context

Insurance Brokerage deals in the lower middle market run a specific playbook. Indemnification is where the structure either holds or starts to leak.

The typical insurance brokerage platform sits at $10M to $150M EV with EBITDA in the $3M to $25M range. The thesis runs on regional retail agency roll-ups. Producer non-competes are unenforceable in too many states to ignore. Plan retention, not litigation.

The moves

How Indemnification actually gets structured.

  1. Set general indemnity survival at 18 months, fundamental reps for the full statute of limitations.

  2. Build a basket at 0.5 percent of EV, with a deductible structure, not a tipping basket.

  3. Cap general indemnity at 10 percent of EV, with R&W insurance carrying the layer above.

  4. Carve out fraud, tax, and intentional breach from any cap.

  5. In insurance brokerage, layer in E&O tail insurance priced and bound as part of the Indemnification workstream.

The common mistake

Negotiating caps and baskets without first reading the disclosure schedules. The schedules dictate the real exposure.

Jason's take
"Indemnification only matters when the deal goes wrong. Draft it as if it will."
Jason Powell · Indemnification
Capital after close

The deal is one thing. The capital that opens up after close is another.

After close, the call list for refinancing, recapitalization, and growth equity gets short and known. Jason carries that list.

MONTH 18
Senior refi
MONTH 24
Dividend recap
MONTH 36
Growth equity
YEAR 4–5
Strategic exit
WORK WITH JASON

Bring the insurance brokerage deal. Get Indemnification done right.

Direct counsel from a securities and M&A attorney with billions in structured transactions, the independent-sponsor-native playbook, and the capital markets network that opens up post-close.