Sterling Thompson Company

What Sterling Thompson Company does

Sterling Thompson Company (also referenced as Sterling G. Thompson Company) is an independent, family-controlled insurance brokerage founded in 1937 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. The firm operates six offices across five states — Louisville (HQ), two in Lexington (Kentucky), Locust Valley (New York), Miami (Florida), and Richmond (Virginia) — and employs more than 100 people. It serves businesses, families, and individuals across multiple insurance and risk disciplines, with documented client relationships dating back more than a decade.

The firm's product lines span commercial insurance, personal lines, farm and equine coverage, employee benefits, real estate (with billions in Total Insured Value serviced), life and health, and a recently added Business & Risk Consulting practice. Its core advisory methodology is The Compass®, a federally trademarked proprietary process. Distribution and service are delivered through regional offices with specialized producers in niche verticals such as equine insurance and high-value real estate. Technology footprint consists of standard brokerage infrastructure, including the CSR24 client portal.

Sterling Thompson generates revenue through commissions on placed insurance and fees for advisory and consulting services, monetizing long-tenured client relationships across diversified segments. The firm maintains Best Practices Agency recognition and partners with United Benefit Advisors to extend carrier access and benchmarking in employee benefits. Growth has been organic and acquisition-aided (e.g., Lexington Equine Insurance in 2025), with no disclosed external equity sponsorship.

Name

Sterling Thompson Company

Legal name

Sterling G. Thompson Company

Website

https://sterlingthompson.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1937

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Sterling Thompson Company is a fourth-generation, independent insurance brokerage founded in 1937 in Louisville, KY, serving businesses, families, and individuals across commercial, personal, equine, benefits, and real estate lines from six offices in five states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insurance Brokerage

NAICS

Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (524210), Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (52421), Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities (5242)

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Captive Insurance Advisory & Management (FSAEADAF)

Keywords

• Independent insurance agency
• Business insurance brokerage
• Personal lines coverage
• Equine insurance
• Risk management consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Louisville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 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 Commissions: Agency earns commissions from insurance carriers for placing client coverage. Commissions are typically a percentage of premium paid by clients. As an independent agency, they work with multiple national and regional carriers to find competitive rates for clients.
2. Risk Consulting Services: Business & Risk Consulting services including leadership development, change management, strategic growth advisory, and executive coaching provided to organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sterling Thompson Company is an independent insurance brokerage founded in 1937 that places business, personal, farm and equine, real estate, life and health, and employee benefits coverage on behalf of clients through national and regional carrier partnerships. The firm also provides business and risk consulting services including leadership development, change management, and strategic growth advisory, and applies a proprietary trademarked advisory process called The Compass® to structure coverage recommendations for each client.

Product overview

Sterling Thompson Company is an independent insurance agency founded in 1937, offering a comprehensive portfolio of insurance products and risk management services. The company operates as a multi-line insurance broker with distinct divisions: Business Insurance (property, liability, auto, workers' comp, cyber, captive solutions), Personal Insurance (home, auto, umbrella, valuables, flood, travel, RV), Farm & Equine Insurance (mortality, medical/surgical, farm owners, equine liability, horse show coverage), Employee Benefits (group medical, self-funding, HSAs/FSAs/HRAs, dental/vision, benefit portals), Real Estate Insurance (builders risk, commercial property, lender compliance, OCIP/CCIP), Life & Health Insurance (life, annuities, Medicare, individual health), and Business & Risk Consulting (leadership, change management, M&A, strategic growth). The company also offers a proprietary methodology called The Compass® and a client portal called MySGT. Operating as an independent agency with national carrier partnerships, the firm leverages 90+ years of experience to provide tailored risk management solutions across Kentucky, New York, Florida, and Virginia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sterling Thompson Equine: Specialized division of Sterling Thompson Company focused on equine insurance including mortality, liability, and farm coverage
• The Compass®

Products and services

• Business Insurance

Quantifiable outcome

• 90 years of delivering risk management solutions since 1937
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• United Benefit Advisors (UBA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSterling Thompson Company is a Partner Firm of United Benefit Advisors (UBA). UBA is an alliance of over 130 elite employee benefits agencies sharing knowledge and resources. Partners are held to high standards of professionalism, integrity, and business ethics, leading to practical, cost-effective employee benefits solutions.
• Employee Benefits Insurance CarrierscoreOthersPartners include Aetna, Anthem, Benecon, BlueMine Health, Cigna, Claros Analytics, Colonial Life, Delta Dental, Guardian, Humana, Marquee Health, Milliman Consulting, Norton LifeLock, Pareto Health, Principal Life, Roundstone Captive Solutions, Sun Life Financial, Symetra, Teledoc, The Hartford, United Healthcare, VOYA, VSP, and many others for employee benefits solutions.
• Life and Health Insurance PartnerscoreOthersPartners include Anthem, Banner Life, Colonial, Delta Dental, Dental Care Plus, Genworth, Guardian, Humana, John Hancock, Legal & General, Lincoln Financial, Metlife, One America, Pareto Captive Services, Principal, Prudential, Symetra, Trans America for life and health insurance products.
• Commercial Insurance CarrierscoreOthersPartners include Acuity, American Bankers, AmTrust, CNA, Great American, Liberty Mutual, Middle Oak, Philadelphia, Progressive, The Hartford, Travelers, USLI, VFIS, XL Catlin for commercial insurance products.
• Farm and Equine Insurance CarrierscoreOthersPartners include American Equine/Argonaut, American Reliable, AXA/XL Insurance, Bascule Insurance/Nova/Accelerant, Berkley Equine/Starnet, Core/Starstone, Great American, HDI Global, Kirk Horse Insurance/Swiss Re, Chubb, Liberty Mutual, Travelers for equine and farm insurance.
• Personal Insurance CarrierscoreOthersPartners include AIG, Auto Owners, Cincinnati, Chubb, Encova, Progressive, Pure, Safeco, SECURA, State Auto, Travelers, Farmers (formerly Metlife) for personal insurance products.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Brown & Brown: National independent insurance brokerage built largely through acquiring regional agencies with multi-line personal, commercial, and employee benefits capabilities — directly comparable structure and growth approach.
• AssuredPartners: Large nationwide acquirer of independent insurance agencies offering multi-line personal, commercial, and benefits coverage through carrier partnerships — comparable business model to Sterling Thompson and a likely consolidator of mid-sized agencies at this scale.
• Acrisure: One of the largest independent insurance brokers globally, acquiring and operating multi-line agencies with national carrier partnerships — directly comparable in operating model and acquisition-driven growth strategy.
• Hilb Group: Middle-market independent insurance agency acquirer building a multi-vertical agency platform across commercial, personal, and benefits — directly comparable in scale, structure, and inorganic growth posture.
• Foundation Risk Partners: Independent insurance agency platform actively acquiring multi-line agencies across commercial, personal, and benefits — a closely comparable peer in services, structure, and consolidator playbook.
• Heffernan Insurance Brokers: Privately held independent insurance brokerage offering commercial, personal, benefits, and risk advisory across multiple offices — comparable in independent ownership, multi-line breadth, and consultative approach.
• USI Insurance Services: Large independent insurance brokerage and consulting firm serving commercial, personal, and benefits lines through carrier partnerships — comparable in independent distribution model and multi-line offering.
• Insurica Insurance Management Networks: Independent multi-line insurance agency operating across commercial, personal, and benefits with national carrier partnerships — directly comparable in independent structure and dedicated specialty practices.
• RPS (Risk Placement Services): Specialty insurance brokerage placing complex commercial and personal lines through carrier partnerships — comparable in market position as a specialty-driven intermediary.
• Woodruff Sawyer: Independent insurance brokerage specializing in commercial coverage including property, casualty, and benefits with industry-specific expertise — comparable in independent ownership and niche specialty orientation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SGT_Insurance
• Facebookweb.facebook.com/SGT.Insurance.Co
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sterling-g.-thompson-co
• Instagraminstagram.com/sgt_insurance

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Sterling Thompson Company