Independent Brokers Agency

What Independent Brokers Agency does

Independent Brokers Agency (IBA) is a family-founded retail insurance brokerage headquartered in Ballwin, Missouri (greater St. Louis), offering personal lines, commercial lines, and employee benefits consulting to individual consumers and small-to-mid-size businesses. The firm was founded in 1987 by Joe Wessels with the support of his wife, Sandy Wessels, and built its book over more than three decades on a people-first, consultative service model. Heather Wessels and Mike Swatske assumed operations in 2018 and ownership in 2020, formalizing a second-generation leadership transition while preserving the family-led character of the agency.

IBA distributes insurance through licensed agents and brokers, providing access to multiple carriers and products rather than building proprietary technology. Revenue is generated through standard insurance commissions on personal lines (auto, home, life, motorcycle, boat, condo, farm owners, renters, recreational vehicles, special events, umbrella and excess), commercial property and casualty lines across industries such as auto dealers, construction, manufacturing, transportation, and restaurants, and employee benefits programs. No AI, digital platform, or proprietary technology stack is disclosed; pricing and quoting are handled through direct professional consultation.

In 2024, IBA became the first Missouri office to partner with WalkerHughes Insurance, a multi-state brokerage operating across Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The partnership, driven by shared commitments to community, service, and growth, effectively places IBA within the WalkerHughes network while IBA retains its brand identity and local client relationships. The WalkerHughes St. Louis office — which now hosts IBA — also absorbed Clark Insurance Agency in January 2025 and Apogee Insurance Solutions in May 2025, signaling continued consolidation of independent agencies into the WalkerHughes platform in the St. Louis market.

Name

Independent Brokers Agency

Legal name

Independent Brokers Agency

Website

https://ibariskmanagement.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Independent Brokers Agency is a family-founded, St. Louis-area insurance brokerage offering personal lines, commercial lines, and employee benefits consulting to individual consumers and small-to-mid-size businesses, operating as part of WalkerHughes Insurance since 2024.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insurance Brokerage

NAICS

Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (52421)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail (Personal Lines) Insurance Brokerage (FSAEADAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Commercial Lines Insurance Brokerage (FSAEADAB)

Keywords

• Personal insurance
• Commercial insurance
• Employee benefits
• Insurance brokerage
• Property casualty

Headquarters

HQ city

Ballwin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Insurance Commission Revenue: The agency earns commissions from selling insurance products across personal lines, commercial lines, and employee benefits. Revenue is generated through agency partnerships with insurance carriers, with commission-based compensation tied to policy premiums and renewals.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Independent Brokers Agency is a family-founded independent insurance brokerage that sells personal lines insurance (auto, home, life, motorcycle, boat, classic car, condo, farm owners, renters, recreational vehicle, special event, umbrella & excess), commercial lines insurance (property & casualty across industries such as auto dealers, construction, manufacturing, transportation, restaurants, public entity, agriculture, and schools/universities), and employee benefits consulting. Products are placed with multiple insurance carriers accessed through the WalkerHughes Insurance partnership, and the agency is compensated via carrier commissions on premiums and renewals.

Product overview

Independent Brokers Agency (IBA) is a family-founded and operated insurance agency that offers a comprehensive portfolio of insurance products organized across three core areas: personal lines, commercial lines, and employee benefits consulting. The agency was founded in 1987 and has built a strong reputation over three decades providing personalized service. In 2024, IBA partnered with WalkerHughes Insurance, becoming the first office in Missouri to join their network. Through this partnership, IBA's products integrate into WalkerHughes' broader insurance platform, which includes extensive personal insurance offerings (auto, home, life, motorcycle, boat, classic car, condo, farm owners, renters, recreational vehicle, special event, and umbrella coverage) and commercial insurance solutions (property & casualty, employee benefits consulting) across multiple industries (auto dealers, construction, manufacturing, transportation, restaurants, schools, public entity, agriculture).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Personal Lines Insurance Individual insurance coverage including auto, home, life, motorcycle, boat, classic car, condo, farm owners, renters, recreational vehicle, special event, and umbrella & excess coverage for personal customers.
• Commercial Lines Insurance
• Employee Benefits Consulting

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Apogee Insurance SolutionsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025Apogee Insurance Solutions partnered with WalkerHughes in May 2025. Founded in 2019, Apogee identified a need in the local insurance marketplace by combining thoughtful risk management with a service-driven approach. The team moved into the established WalkerHughes St. Louis office location following the partnership.
• Clark Insurance AgencyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Clark Insurance Agency (formerly Thies Insurance, founded in the 1950s) partnered with WalkerHughes in January 2025. The agency has been owned and operated by the Clark family for three generations. Following the partnership, the Clark team moved into the established WalkerHughes St. Louis office location.
• WalkerHughes InsurancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024In 2024, Independent Brokers Agency (IBA) became the first office in Missouri to partner with WalkerHughes Insurance. This partnership was driven by shared commitment to community, service, and growth. The partnership allows IBA to expand distribution reach and provide clients access to a broader network of insurance carriers and products while maintaining local operations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• WalkerHughes Insurance: Direct parent and platform of Independent Brokers Agency following the 2024 partnership. Operates as a multi-state independent insurance agency offering the same personal, commercial, and employee benefits product mix across Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio; IBA functions as the Missouri beachhead of this network.
• Clark Insurance Agency: Family-owned St. Louis insurance agency (formerly Thies Insurance, founded in the 1950s) that joined WalkerHughes in January 2025. Highly comparable to IBA in scale, product mix, and family-operated legacy model; now co-located in the same St. Louis WalkerHughes office.
• Apogee Insurance Solutions: Founded in 2019, this St. Louis-area agency joined WalkerHughes in May 2025 with a comparable risk-management-led, service-driven positioning. Overlaps directly with IBA on commercial and personal insurance brokerage in the same metro.

Broad incumbents

• Brown & Brown, Inc. Large national insurance brokerage with deep personal, commercial, and employee benefits offerings. Comparable to IBA in product scope but operates at vastly greater scale through organic growth and acquisition of independent agencies like IBA.
• Hub International Limited: Major North American insurance brokerage serving mid-market commercial and personal lines clients across the U.S., including the Midwest. Comparable business model and acquisition-driven growth strategy targeting family-owned agencies.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Global insurance brokerage and risk management firm with significant Midwest presence. Overlaps with IBA on personal and commercial lines brokerage and on the same employee benefits consulting services IBA provides to SMBs.
• AssuredPartners, Inc. U.S. insurance brokerage built primarily through acquisitions of independent agencies. Highly comparable acquisition playbook and similar product mix in personal, commercial, and benefits lines targeting the Midwest SMB market.
• Lockton Companies: Large independent insurance brokerage with strong Midwest presence and significant commercial lines and employee benefits practices. Comparable in the SMB-to-mid-market commercial and benefits segments that IBA serves.
• USI Insurance Services: National insurance brokerage and consulting firm with broad personal, commercial, and employee benefits offerings. Comparable distribution model and customer segment overlap with IBA in the Midwest.

Emerging players

• Keystone Insurers Group: Regional alliance of independent insurance agencies operating across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Comparable to IBA as an independently owned, multi-line agency and similar community-trust positioning; provides an alternative affiliation path to WalkerHughes for family-led agencies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IBArisk
• Facebookfacebook.com/ibariskmanagement
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ibains

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Independent Brokers Agency