Close · Insurance Brokerage

Insurance Brokerage Deals: SBA Financing Done Right

Structuring SBA Financing on insurance brokerage deals, with the structure protection and capital connectivity an independent sponsor actually needs.

EV range $10M to $150M EV EBITDA $3M to $25M Audience Independent Sponsor
The deal context

An independent sponsor closing insurance brokerage transactions in the $10M to $150M EV range has a defined set of moves at the SBA Financing stage. Most of them are not in a generic M&A textbook.

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 SBA Financing actually gets structured.

  1. Confirm eligibility against SBA size standards before signing the LOI.

  2. Structure personal guarantees with care; SBA lenders require them but they can be narrowed.

  3. Plan the seller note as on-standby debt, supporting the SBA loan covenant package.

  4. Time the SBA approval process into the closing schedule; allow 90 days from full application.

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

The common mistake

Promising the seller an SBA-funded close in 60 days. SBA does not move at LOI speed.

Jason's take
"SBA debt is the cheapest money in the independent sponsor market. The trade is paperwork and time."
Jason Powell · SBA Financing
Capital after close

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

Refinancing, recaps, growth rounds, and the right strategic conversation eighteen months early are all downstream of relationships that take years to build and minutes to use.

MONTH 18
Senior refi
MONTH 24
Dividend recap
MONTH 36
Growth equity
YEAR 4–5
Strategic exit
ENGAGE THE PRACTICE

SBA Financing for Insurance Brokerage, on independent sponsor terms.

Independent sponsor counsel that already speaks fluent deal-by-deal economics, structures clean LPAs, and travels with capital markets relationships for what comes after close.