Business Insurance

What Business Insurance does

Business Insurance is a B2B trade media company founded on October 30, 1967, that serves executives across the commercial insurance industry, including risk managers, insurers, brokers, third-party administrators, and reinsurers. It operates a multi-format publishing platform consisting of a daily online news operation on BusinessInsurance.com, a monthly print magazine delivered to subscribers, email newsletters with engagement tracking, and a mobile app. The company produces proprietary industry rankings that function as market infrastructure: the Top 100 U.S. Brokers ranking (since 1972), U.S. Excess and Surplus Lines rankings (since 1985), the BI Stock Index, and the Insurance Pricing series. It also runs signature awards and conference properties including the Women to Watch program (since 2006), the Break Out Awards (40 honorees per year across four regions), the Best Places to Work in Insurance rankings co-produced with Best Companies Group, and the RISKWORLD conference platform.

The revenue model blends subscription recurring revenue (paid online and print subscriptions), advertising (display, newsletter, and sponsored content such as partnerships with Concirrus, Gallagher Bassett, and Origami Risk), event sponsorships, one-time licenses for directories and ranking data products, and reprint/licensing royalties. Distribution is omnichannel: the website, print magazine, mobile, email alerts, and active social profiles on LinkedIn, X, and Facebook. Access uses a freemium structure, with free registration providing limited access and paid subscriptions unlocking archives and premium content. Underlying technology is a web-based publishing platform with Google Analytics for traffic analysis and email tracking technology for newsletter engagement measurement; no proprietary AI or ML systems, APIs, or SDKs are disclosed.

Business Insurance operates as a division of Beacon Intercontinental Group, Inc. (owned by Beacon since 2019, following earlier ownership by Adam Potter in 2016 and Crain Communications originally). Following the change of control, the company pursued a focused roll-up: Commercial Risk Europe, Asia Insurance Review, and Workers Comp Central were acquired in 2020, followed by Insurance Connect in Milan in 2022, extending editorial surface into EMEA, Asia-Pacific, and the workers compensation vertical. Current operations span North America, EMEA, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, with named advertisers and award honorees drawn from major global insurance organizations including WTW, Verisk, Tokio Marine North America Services, Holmes Murphy, and TexCap Insurance.

Name

Business Insurance

Legal name

Business Insurance Holdings

Website

https://businessinsurance.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Business Insurance is a B2B trade media company serving commercial insurance executives since 1967 with daily online news, a monthly print magazine, proprietary rankings, awards programs, and conferences. It operates as a division of Beacon Intercontinental Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Media & Industry Publications

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines (MPAJAEAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialty Insurance Brokerage (Marine, Aviation, Cyber, Professional Lines) (FSAEADAJ)

Keywords

• Insurance industry news
• Risk management media
• Commercial insurance publishing
• Insurance broker rankings
• Trade publication insurance

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscriptions: Paid subscriptions for online and print magazine access, including premium content, archives, and exclusive reports.
2. Advertising: Display advertising, sponsored content, and newsletter advertising placements across the website and email communications.
3. Directories and Rankings Products: Licensed access to proprietary databases and rankings including Top 100 Brokers, Excess and Surplus Lines rankings, and Best Places to Work data products in Excel and PDF formats.
4. Reprints and Licensing: Reprint licensing fees for content reuse, particularly for corporate memoranda, reports, and presentations.
5. Event Sponsorships: Sponsorship opportunities for BI Events including Women to Watch, Break Out Awards, and RISKWORLD conferences.
6. Advertising Services: Full-service advertising and marketing requests handled through advertising department for brand exposure to insurance industry executives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Business Insurance is a trade media publication delivering news, analysis, and proprietary data products for the commercial insurance and risk management industry. The company distributes a monthly print magazine, daily online news, email newsletters, proprietary rankings and directories (such as the Top 100 U.S. Brokers ranking since 1972 and the U.S. Excess and Surplus Lines rankings since 1985), industry awards programs, and conferences including RISKWORLD.

Product overview

Business Insurance is a singular, authoritative news and information source for executives focused upon risk management, risk transfer and risk financing. The company operates as a multi-media platform delivering content through: a monthly print magazine, daily online and mobile news, BI Events & Awards programs, and BI Intelligence research products including the proprietary Top 100 Agents & Brokers rankings and Best Places to Work in Insurance rankings. Founded in 1967, the publication covers topics across risk management, workers compensation, international markets, and employee benefits.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Daily Online News & Subscription Access Web-based subscription access to daily news, in-depth analysis, archives, and premium content covering risk management, workers compensation, international markets, cyber risks, pricing trends, and M&A activity for insurance professionals. Free registration available for limited access; paid subscription unlocks full content.
• Monthly Print Magazine Monthly print magazine featuring in-depth analysis, case studies, market intelligence, executive profiles, and proprietary industry rankings, delivered to paid subscribers.
• BI Intelligence (Research & Reports) Licensed research, data products, and reports for insurance industry professionals, including the proprietary BI Stock Index tracking insurance industry performance.
• Directories and Rankings Data Products Copyrighted directories and ranking databases sold in Excel and PDF formats, including the Top 100 U.S. insurance brokers rankings and U.S. excess and surplus lines market rankings.
• BI Events & Awards Programs Industry events and recognition programs including the Women to Watch awards (since 2006), Break Out Awards, Lifetime Achievement Award, and RISKWORLD conferences, with sponsorship opportunities for participating organizations.
• Email Newsletters and Alerts Email-based newsletter distribution providing regular industry news updates and content alerts to subscribers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100 companies featured in annual Best Places to Work rankings
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered parent company, core partnership, former parent company, affiliated content partner and sponsor partner.

• Beacon Intercontinental Group, Inc.parent companyOthersBusiness Insurance Holdings is a division of Beacon Intercontinental Group, Inc., led by Steve Acunto. Beacon operates on three continents with representatives in all major US and EU cities. The company acquired Business Insurance in 2019.
• Best Companies Groupcore partnershipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual partnership for Best Places to Work in Insurance rankings program. Best Companies Group conducts two-part assessment including employer questionnaire and confidential employee survey across eight core focus areas.
• Crain Communications Inc.former parent companyOthersOriginally published by Crain Communications Inc. for several decades before being acquired. Business Insurance debuted on October 30, 1967 under Crain's ownership.
• Asia Insurance Reviewaffiliated content partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerGlobal content partner affiliated with Business Insurance as part of Beacon Intercontinental Group network.
• Middle East Insurance Reviewaffiliated content partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerGlobal content partner affiliated with Business Insurance as part of Beacon Intercontinental Group network.
• Commercial Riskaffiliated content partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerGlobal content partner acquired by Business Insurance in 2020 as part of global operations expansion.
• WorkCompCentralaffiliated content partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerWorkers compensation-focused content partner acquired by Business Insurance in 2020.
• Insurance Connect (Milan)affiliated content partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerItaly-based insurance content partner acquired by Business Insurance in 2020 as part of global expansion.
• Concirrussponsor partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsored content partnership discussing AI investments and whether they translate into better underwriting results, stronger portfolios, and improved risk selection.
• Gallagher Bassettsponsor partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsored content partnership on organized fraud detection and prevention measures for claims operations.
• Origami Risksponsor partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsored content partnership exploring how leading organizations strengthen workflows, governance, and data management as programs grow.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Insurance Journal: Long-running U.S. insurance trade magazine and digital platform serving insurance professionals with news, rankings, and market coverage — the closest direct peer to Business Insurance in audience, format, and editorial scope.
• PropertyCasualty360 (Wells Media): Property/casualty insurance trade publication from Wells Media serving risk managers and P&C professionals with news, rankings, and digital resources directly competitive with Business Insurance.
• Insurance Insider / Inside P&C: Insurance trade intelligence and news brand covering reinsurance, specialty lines, and industry M&A — comparable editorial depth and audience targeting of senior insurance executives.
• Advisen (an Octus company): Insurance data, analytics, and news provider serving commercial insurance buyers with industry intelligence and reporting — comparable editorial and data-product monetization.
• Insurance Business America: Insurance industry trade publication targeting brokers, agents, and carriers with news, rankings, and events; overlaps directly with Business Insurance in audience and advertising base.
• Carrier Management: Target Markets' commercial insurance publication covering carrier executives, underwriting, and reinsurance with rankings and editorial features highly comparable to Business Insurance's offerings.
• Risk & Insurance magazine: Risk management-focused trade publication covering enterprise risk, captive insurance, and risk financing for risk managers and brokers — overlapping audience and editorial coverage with Business Insurance.
• National Underwriter (Arizent): Historic insurance trade publication covering life, P&C, and financial services with news, rankings, and events targeting insurance executives in a similar editorial niche.

Broad incumbents

• A.M. Best: Established insurance ratings agency with a substantial media, news, and data publishing arm serving insurance executives — comparable audience but broader financial-rating business model.

Emerging players

• Artemis (Reinsurance): Reinsurance-focused digital media platform covering ILS, catastrophe bonds, and reinsurance market intelligence — partial overlap with BI's reinsurance and specialty lines coverage.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/businsmagazine
• Facebookfacebook.com/BusInsMagazine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/business-insurance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Business Insurance