Starkweather and Shepley Insurance Brokerage

What Starkweather and Shepley Insurance Brokerage does

Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage, Inc. is a privately held, full-service insurance brokerage founded in 1879 in Rhode Island and headquartered at 60 Catamore Boulevard in East Providence. The firm operates 14 offices across Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Florida, serving individuals, small and mid-sized businesses, and larger commercial enterprises through three primary divisions: Business Insurance, Personal Insurance / Private Client, and Benefits Solutions. Its commercial practice is organized into industry-specific practice groups covering manufacturing, construction, healthcare, financial institutions, marine, real estate, municipalities, technology/life science, hospitality, franchise, elder care, human services, seafood, transportation, energy, and theatre/arts/entertainment — each combining risk-management consulting with carrier placement. The personal lines division includes the S&S Select product tier for individuals and families and a Private Client practice targeting high-net-worth households with concierge-style coverage and claims advocacy.

The firm's underlying technology is modest and primarily client-facing rather than proprietary-model driven. Core digital assets include the StarShep Private Exchange — a private marketplace powered by Assurex Global that provides employers with administrative flexibility and employee health benefit options — and a web-based employer portal with online enrollment tools for benefits administration. No public API, SDK, or developer platform is offered; the technology footprint is therefore that of a traditional brokerage augmented by partner-powered portals rather than an insurtech or technology-product company. Strategic partnerships extend the firm's effective reach and product breadth: Assurex Global for national and international access (50 states, 170+ countries), Innovative Captive Strategies for captive insurance formation (Group, Single Parent, and Rent-A-Captive structures), Hanover Insurance Group for collectibles coverage, eHealth for individual health marketplace access, and Coastline EAP for employee assistance programs.

Starkweather & Shepley operates under a distinctive ownership structure established in 1935 in which company stock is held in Trust for the benefit of clients and associates, distinguishing it from both PE-backed consolidators and publicly traded brokerages. Revenue is generated primarily through insurance brokerage commissions on placed commercial, personal, and benefits premiums, supplemented by fees on alternative risk and captive structures. Growth has been driven by a steady, multi-decade cadence of tuck-in acquisitions of locally owned independent agencies — including McGrath Insurance Group (2017), Newport Insurance Agency (2020), Ferman Group (Feb 2022), Benefit Horizons Corporation (May 2022), AiK2 Insurance Services (Apr 2025), and DiMatteo Insurance Brokers (Jan 2026) — together with organic expansion of practice groups and product lines. The firm carries no disclosed funding rounds, no AI/ML capabilities, and no parent-company ownership, positioning it as a stable, trust-governed regional brokerage rather than a venture- or PE-backed roll-up.

Name

Starkweather and Shepley Insurance Brokerage

Legal name

Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage, Inc.

Website

https://starshep.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1879

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Starkweather & Shepley is a privately held, full-service insurance brokerage founded in 1879, offering commercial, personal, and employee benefits coverage through 14 offices across Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Florida, with industry-specific practices and alternative risk solutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

East Providence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices14 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Insurance Brokerage Commissions: Traditional insurance brokerage earning commissions from placing commercial insurance, personal insurance, and employee benefits coverage with insurance carriers. Revenue generated as a percentage of premium placed.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Starkweather & Shepley is a full-service independent insurance brokerage that places commercial, personal, and employee benefits coverage with multiple insurance carriers on a commission basis. The firm provides risk management, claims advocacy, and industry-specific coverage programs across four states, serving clients locally through 14 offices and nationally/internationally through the Assurex Global partnership.

Product overview

Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage is a full-service insurance brokerage firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of insurance and risk management products organized across three core divisions: Business Insurance (commercial insurance, small business enterprise coverage, construction, manufacturing, marine, transportation, and industry-specific risk solutions), Personal Insurance (S&S Select and Private Client tiers for high-net-worth individuals), and Benefits Solutions (medical, dental, life, disability, voluntary benefits, retirement planning, HR consulting, and compliance). The firm also operates specialized programs including Captive Risk Solutions (Group Captive, Single Parent Captive, Rent-A-Captives), Collection Protection through Hanover Insurance Group, Theatre/Arts/Entertainment insurance, and Financial Institutions coverage with products like CCOProtect and E&O/D&O liability. The StarShep Private Exchange powered by Assurex Global provides a private marketplace for employee health benefits. With 14 offices across Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Florida, the firm serves clients locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally through its Assurex Global partnership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Insurance

Quantifiable outcome

• Workers Compensation premium reduced by over 20% for manufacturing client

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Rhode Island FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010The Starkweather & Shepley Charitable Fund is a corporate advised fund of the Rhode Island Foundation, providing grants to local non-profit organizations that benefit the community, particularly children and families in need.
• Assurex GlobalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssurex Global partnership provides access to market information, benchmarking tools, and additional resources to support clients with multiple locations. The network also shares industry best practices and provides national and international expertise for Starkweather & Shepley clients across all 50 states and 170+ countries worldwide.
• Innovative Captive Strategies (ICS)coreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with ICS provides captive insurance expertise and alternative risk management options including Group Captive, Single Parent Captive, and Rent-A-Captive programs for businesses seeking alternatives to traditional insurance.
• Hanover Insurance GroupcoreTechnology or IntegrationThrough the Hanover Group, Starkweather & Shepley Insurance offers comprehensive coverage options for individual collectors and dealers with coverage designed explicitly for collections. The partnership provides exclusive collectibles insurance programs with specialized coverage limits.
• Coastline EAPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStarkweather Benefits Solutions recommends Coastline EAP to assist employees during troubled periods as part of the Employee Assistance Program offerings.
• eHealthminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with eHealth provides online health insurance marketplace options for individual customers seeking coverage.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Brown & Brown: Large publicly traded U.S. insurance brokerage with a comparable mix of commercial, personal, and employee benefits business and a long history of tuck-in acquisitions. More than ten times Starkweather's size, making it the closest scaled analog for regional brokerage economics.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Top-tier global insurance brokerage and risk management firm offering commercial P&C, benefits, and consulting services. Comparable across product mix and industry-specialized practice groups, though operating at vastly larger scale.
• USI Insurance Services: Large PE-backed U.S. insurance brokerage built through roll-up acquisitions of regional agencies. Directly comparable in product mix (commercial, personal, employee benefits) and growth strategy, but at materially greater scale and with PE-backed capital.
• Lockton Companies: Largest privately held independent insurance brokerage in the U.S., with a similar privately held status and emphasis on industry specialization, employee benefits, and commercial P&C. Comparable ownership philosophy and product breadth, but global scale.
• Hub International: Large PE-backed North American insurance brokerage that has grown by acquiring regional brokerages. Overlaps with Starkweather across commercial P&C, personal lines, employee benefits, and industry-specialized practices.
• Marsh McLennan: Global insurance brokerage and risk advisory leader (Marsh) operating across commercial P&C, specialty, and reinsurance. Comparable in the broad commercial P&C and risk management space, but at vastly larger scale and with international footprint.

Direct peers

• Hilb Group: Middle-market U.S. insurance brokerage that has grown primarily through acquisition of regional agencies across commercial, personal, and benefits lines. Closely comparable to Starkweather in size, regional density strategy, and acquisition cadence.
• World Insurance Associates: PE-backed U.S. insurance brokerage built aggressively through acquisitions of regional agencies and benefits firms. Highly comparable acquisition-led growth model and product mix to Starkweather, though at faster recent growth pace.
• The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers: Privately held regional insurance brokerage offering commercial, personal, and employee benefits with multiple office locations. Comparable in scale, geographic concentration strategy, and independent brokerage positioning.

Regional players

• Burns & Wilcox: Specialty wholesale brokerage and managing general agency serving retail brokers including firms like Starkweather. Comparable as a channel participant in the same industry vertical, with overlap in specialty lines such as fine art/collectibles.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/starkshep
• Facebookfacebook.com/StarkweatherShepley
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/starkweather-&-shepley-insurance-brokerage-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A5 records

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Starkweather and Shepley Insurance Brokerage