What Holmes Murphy does

Holmes Murphy is an independent insurance brokerage founded in 1932 and headquartered in Waukee, Iowa. The firm operates across 17 offices in 11 states with over 1,400 employees, offering Property Casualty and Employee Benefits brokerage services alongside captive insurance, surety bonds, claims management, cyber insurance, executive risk, and global risk management. It serves mid-to-large commercial enterprises as the primary segment, with additional offerings for small-to-mid-sized businesses, high-net-worth individuals, and industry-specific verticals including Construction, Manufacturing, Agriculture, Mining, Healthcare, Hospitality, ESOP companies, and Fraternal organizations. The company is employee-owned with no PE or VC involvement and operates as part of the PLUS Family of Brands, which encompasses 8 wholly-owned subsidiaries spanning captive management, third-party claims administration, insurtech innovation, specialty benefits, and health consulting.

Holmes Murphy generates revenue primarily through insurance brokerage commissions earned from carriers on both Property Casualty and Employee Benefits lines of business, with services priced on a customized, quote-based model and annual billing cadence. The firm's go-to-market is enterprise field sales with dedicated practice area specialists and regional service leaders. Technology infrastructure is anchored by the Holmes Base proprietary platform, launched April 2026 and built on Salesforce Financial Services Cloud, which centralizes policy lifecycle management, exposure tracking, document access, and data analysis for Property Casualty clients. Supporting this is the CLUE (Client Learning and Understanding Engine) analytics platform, providing claim benchmarking, modeling, and forecasting against a database of over 4 million insurance programs, alongside AI-driven process automation for internal workflows.

The firm pursues a dual expansion strategy of geographic growth (recently entering North Dakota in March 2026) and product/capability deepening, including the recruitment of senior talent from competitors such as Marsh McLennan Agency, Aon, and Lockton to strengthen Complex Risk, Employee Benefits, and Compliance practices. Co-founding BrokerTech Ventures in 2019 extended the firm's ecosystem into the insurtech innovation space. Strategic positioning emphasizes independence, employee ownership, industry specialization, and data-driven advisory capabilities as differentiators versus larger publicly-held brokerages and captive carrier-affiliated competitors.

Name

Holmes Murphy

Legal name

Holmes Murphy & Associates

Website

https://holmesmurphy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1932

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Holmes Murphy is an independent, employee-owned insurance brokerage founded in 1932, providing Property Casualty and Employee Benefits brokerage across 17 offices in 11 states to mid-to-large commercial enterprises, with proprietary analytics and digital platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Insurance Brokerage

NAICS

Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities (5242), Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (52421), Pharmacy Benefit Management and Other Third Party Administration of Insurance and Pension Funds (524292)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411), Surety Insurance (6351)

akta.pro primary industry

Captive Insurance Advisory & Management (FSAEADAF)

Keywords

• Commercial insurance brokerage
• Employee benefits consulting
• Captive insurance solutions
• Property casualty insurance
• Risk management services

Headquarters

HQ city

Waukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices18 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Insurance Brokerage Commissions: Holmes Murphy generates revenue as an independent insurance brokerage by placing insurance coverage on behalf of commercial clients. The firm earns commissions from insurance carriers for both Property Casualty and Employee Benefits lines of business. Being employee-owned and independent since 1932, the firm does not answer to external investors and operates without Wall Street obligations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Holmes Murphy is an independent insurance brokerage placing commercial Property Casualty and Employee Benefits coverage on behalf of clients, and providing related risk management, claims, captive insurance, and consulting services. The firm operates a proprietary technology ecosystem (Holmes Base on Salesforce Financial Services Cloud and the CLUE analytics engine) to support policy lifecycle management, claims benchmarking, and data-driven program design for mid-market and enterprise customers.

Product overview

Holmes Murphy is an independent insurance brokerage firm offering two primary lines of business: Property Casualty and Employee Benefits. The firm's product portfolio consists of core insurance services supplemented by proprietary technology platforms and a family of subsidiary brands. The flagship proprietary platform is Holmes Base, built on Salesforce Financial Services Cloud, which centralizes policy lifecycle management, exposure tracking, document access, and data analysis for Property Casualty clients. Supporting this is the CLUE (Client Learning and Understanding Engine) analytics platform, which provides claim benchmarking, modeling, and forecasting capabilities across both Property Casualty and Employee Benefits lines. The PLUS Family of Brands encompasses nine subsidiary companies (Creative Risk Solutions, BrokerTech Ventures, Avant Specialty Benefits, Innovative Captive Strategies, ACAP HealthWorks, Charlesworth Consulting, Global Captive Management, and Innovative Program Solutions) that extend capabilities into captive management, claims administration, insurtech innovation, health consulting, and specialized program development. Core services span Captive Insurance, Claims Management, Clinical Wellbeing, Complex Property, Cyber Insurance, Data Analytics, Executive Risk, Global Risk Management, Pharmacy, Placement, Private Risk, Risk & Safety, Small Business, Specialty Benefits, Surety Bonds, Third-Party Claims, and Workers' Compensation. The company serves 16 industries including Construction, Manufacturing, Agriculture, Financial Services, Technology, and Healthcare, with operations across 17 offices in 11 states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PLUS Family of Brands: Innovative companies born from an independent mindset, delivering best-in-class insurance and risk management solutions. Includes Creative Risk Solutions, BrokerTech Ventures, Avant Specialty Benefits, Innovative Captive Strategies, ACAP HealthWorks, Charlesworth Consulting, Global Captive Management, and Innovative Program Solutions.

Products and services

• Property Casualty
• Employee Benefits
• Captive Insurance
• Claims Management
• Clinical Wellbeing
• Complex Property
• Cyber Insurance
• Data Analytics
• Executive Risk
• Surety Bonds
• Holmes Base

Quantifiable outcome

• Clients have taken seven figures off the table through captive insurance solutions
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BrokerTech VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Holmes Murphy co-founded BrokerTech Ventures (BTV), the first and largest broker-led insurtech ecosystem in the world. BTV is a Des Moines-based insurance industry accelerator connecting brokers, carriers, and startups. Holmes Murphy leaders guide BTV's innovation strategy as it scales its accelerator program.
• Worldwide Broker Network (WBN)coreTechnology or IntegrationHolmes Murphy is a member of the Worldwide Broker Network, the largest independent broker network spanning over 100 countries with 150+ insurance broker members. WBN enables Holmes Murphy to provide global risk management services to multinational clients through international partnerships.
• National Association of Surety Bond ProducersminorOthersHolmes Murphy is a member of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers, providing credibility and industry recognition for surety bonding services.
• Insurance CarrierscoreOthersHolmes Murphy maintains carrier partnerships for placing Property Casualty, Employee Benefits, and specialty insurance coverage. The firm leverages strong relationships with national and regional surety companies for bonding services.
• The ESOP Association (TEA)minorOthersHolmes Murphy's ESOP team is active contributing members of The ESOP Association, supporting employee ownership advocacy and providing access to the ESOP community.
• National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO)minorOthersHolmes Murphy's ESOP team is a nonprofit organization supporting the employee ownership community, providing thought leadership and industry resources.
• Global Captive ManagementminorOthersPart of the PLUS Family of Brands, Global Captive Management has been bringing expertise and passion to the captive insurance industry since 1982.
• Innovative Captive Strategies (ICS)minorOthersPart of the PLUS Family of Brands, ICS has been challenging the way insurance has been done since 1999, providing captive insurance solutions.
• Creative Risk SolutionsminorOthersPart of the PLUS Family of Brands, Creative Risk Solutions provides expert third-party claims management beyond standard insurance adjusters.
• Avant Specialty BenefitsminorOthersPart of the PLUS Family of Brands, Avant offers comprehensive strategic support for a wide range of needs in the Employee Benefits sector.
• ACAP HealthWorksminorOthersPart of the PLUS Family of Brands, providing health-focused consulting and solutions.
• Charlesworth ConsultingminorOthersPart of the PLUS Family of Brands, providing specialized consulting services.
• Innovative Program SolutionsminorOthersPart of the PLUS Family of Brands, providing innovative program solutions for targeted markets.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Marsh McLennan: World's largest insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm with operations across Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer, and Oliver Wyman. Directly competes with Holmes Murphy on commercial P&C placements, and is referenced as the previous employer of Holmes Murphy's new Complex Risk Practice Leader.
• Aon: Global professional services firm offering risk management, insurance brokerage, and HR consulting. Directly overlaps with Holmes Murphy on commercial insurance placement and risk advisory, and is identified as a prior employer of Holmes Murphy's Complex Risk Practice Leader.

Direct peers

• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Large publicly traded independent insurance brokerage and risk management firm with a similar product mix across commercial P&C, employee benefits, and specialty practices. Direct mid-market and enterprise competitor, materially larger in scale, and a relevant benchmark for valuation given public-market trading multiples.
• Brown & Brown, Inc. Publicly traded independent insurance brokerage with comparable commercial lines franchise across P&C and employee benefits. Highly acquisitive roll-up acquirer with similar geographic diversification and a direct competitor for Holmes Murphy's target mid-market accounts.
• Lockton Companies: Largest privately held independent insurance brokerage in the United States and the closest analog to Holmes Murphy in size, independence, and structure. Holmes Murphy's new compliance director was hired from Lockton, evidencing direct talent competition between the two firms.
• USI Insurance Services: Large privately held insurance brokerage and risk management consulting firm serving commercial clients across property casualty and employee benefits. Comparable business model with similar mid-market enterprise orientation and dedicated industry practice areas.
• AssuredPartners: Large privately held insurance brokerage backed by private equity (GTCR, Oak Hill), rapidly grown through acquisition of regional agencies. Direct competitor for Holmes Murphy in mid-market commercial accounts and a buyer of smaller brokerages in adjacent geographies.
• Hub International: Large privately held insurance brokerage operating across North America with a similar middle-market and enterprise commercial focus. Comparable in size to Holmes Murphy with similar geographic concentration and an active acquirer of regional brokerages.
• IMA Financial Group: Privately held commercial insurance brokerage headquartered in the central U.S. with comparable employee-owned structure and similar industry practice verticals. Directly competitive in mid-market commercial P&C and benefits accounts in overlapping geographies.

Others

• Worldwide Broker Network (WBN): Global network of independent broker members that Holmes Murphy leverages to deliver international risk management. As an ecosystem participant, WBN is not a direct competitor but enables Holmes Murphy to access global markets that would otherwise be out of reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/holmesmurphyins
• Facebookfacebook.com/holmesmurphyins

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles28 records

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments4 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Holmes Murphy