Howden Insurance Brokers Limited

What Howden Insurance Brokers Limited does

Howden Insurance Brokers Limited is an independent, employee-owned insurance broker headquartered in London, United Kingdom, founded in 1994. It operates across 40+ countries spanning Europe, Asia Pacific, the Americas, and the Middle East & Africa, with over 24,000 global colleagues managing $51bn+ in premium under management. The company is the 5th largest employee-owned business in the UK and serves SMEs, large corporates, and multinational clients across 20+ industry verticals including agriculture, aviation, marine, energy, financial institutions, fintech, life sciences, technology, and public sector accounts.

The company's product portfolio spans four primary service lines: insurance broking across property, casualty, marine, cyber, professional indemnity, specialty, and reinsurance lines; employee benefits consulting and administration; risk advisory and actuarial services; and capital markets advisory. Specialty divisions include Howden Re for reinsurance placement and Howden Capital Markets & Advisory for complex insurance-linked mandates. The company has developed proprietary technology assets, notably Celestia Risk, an Enterprise Risk Management software tool for capturing risk data and generating actionable insight, the Risk Portal digital advisory platform, and Howden Be, a benefits administration technology platform. Distribution is delivered through dedicated sector-specialist sales teams, a global partner broker network branded as the Howden One Network, and separate specialty divisions.

Howden generates revenue primarily through commissions and fees on insurance placement, supplemented by professional services fees from risk advisory, actuarial, and employee benefits consulting mandates. Pricing is bespoke and negotiated on a client-by-client basis under multi-year contracts, with no public pricing schedule. The employee-owned governance structure, in place since founding, is positioned as central to the value proposition by aligning colleague incentives with client outcomes and retaining capital to fund acquisitions and technology development. Recent strategic actions have emphasised inorganic growth, with the completion of the Barnett Waddingham acquisition and the announced acquisition of EPFS from Evelyn Partners in 2025-2026, both targeting UK employee benefits and actuarial capability expansion.

Name

Howden Insurance Brokers Limited

Legal name

Howden Group Holdings Ltd

Website

https://howdengroup.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Howden Insurance Brokers Limited is an employee-owned, independent insurance broker founded in 1994 and headquartered in London, serving SMEs, corporates, and multinationals across 20+ industry verticals globally through insurance placement, reinsurance, employee benefits, and risk advisory services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insurance Brokerage

NAICS

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

SIC

Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Insurtech-Enabled Brokerage (Digital Brokers & Aggregators) (FSAEADAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Surety & Bond Brokerage (FSAEADAI), Reinsurance Claims, Accounting & Contract Administration (Broker Services) (FSAOAHAI)

Keywords

• Commercial insurance brokerage
• Reinsurance services
• Employee benefits consulting
• Enterprise risk management
• Specialty insurance solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Insurance Broking Commission and Fees: Howden earns commissions and fees from placing and servicing insurance policies on behalf of clients across property, casualty, marine, reinsurance, employee benefits, and specialty lines.
2. Risk Advisory and Consulting: Revenue from ERM, actuarial, longevity, and specialist risk advisory services, including software-enabled risk management advisory.
3. Employee Benefits Consulting: Fees from advising on and administering group healthcare, group risk, pensions, financial wellbeing, and global benefits management for corporate clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Howden Insurance Brokers Limited is an independent, employee-owned insurance broker that places and services insurance policies on behalf of SMEs, corporates, and multinational clients across property, casualty, marine, cyber, professional indemnity, specialty lines, and reinsurance. It complements placement with employee benefits consulting (group healthcare, group risk, pensions, financial wellbeing, and global benefits), risk advisory (enterprise risk management, actuarial, longevity, cyber, motor, people and property risk), and capital markets & advisory services. The offering is supported by proprietary tools including Celestia Risk, the Howden Be benefits platform, and the Risk Portal, delivered via direct specialist teams and the Howden One Network of partner brokers.

Product overview

Howden Insurance Brokers Limited operates as an insurance broker offering a portfolio of products and services across business and corporate insurance, employee benefits, and risk advisory. The core insurance offering encompasses diverse lines including property, casualty, marine, cyber, professional indemnity, and specialty covers. The employee benefits division provides consulting, flexible benefits administration (via Howden Be platform), group healthcare, group risk, and pensions & financial wellbeing. Risk advisory services include enterprise risk management, cyber risk, motor risk, people risk, and property risk, supported by proprietary tools such as Celestia Risk software and the Risk Portal. These products are offered as distinct but complementary service lines rather than a single unified software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Celestia Risk: Risk management software for capturing data and generating actionable insight for Enterprise Risk Management
• Howden One Network
• Howden Be
• Howden Re
• Howden Capital Markets & Advisory

Products and services

• Celestia Risk

Quantifiable outcome

• $51bn+ in premium under management, enabling strong market negotiating leverage.

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Evelyn Partners' Employee Benefits Consultancy (EPFS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 November 2025Howden is acquiring Evelyn Partners' employee benefits consultancy EPFS to expand its UK employee benefits and corporate health operations. The acquisition will integrate EPFS's team and services, strengthening Howden's full-service platform and global reach. The deal is expected to close in early 2026.
• Barnett WaddinghamcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 November 2025Howden recently completed the acquisition of Barnett Waddingham, expanding its capabilities in the UK insurance and actuarial consulting market.
• The British & Irish LionsflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerHowden is the Principal Partner of The British & Irish Lions rugby tour, one of the most prestigious sporting partnerships in UK and Irish sport, providing extensive brand visibility and association with elite sporting values.
• Royal AscotcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerHowden is an Official Partner of Royal Ascot, one of the world's most prestigious horse racing events, reinforcing brand recognition in the UK premium market.
• Howden One NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHowden One Network is a global network of partner brokers. Multinational clients can access coordinated coverage across geographies through this network, and smaller businesses can access local insurance solutions through partner brokers.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Marsh McLennan: Marsh McLennan is the world's largest insurance broker and risk advisor, operating Marsh (brokerage), Guy Carpenter (reinsurance), Mercer (health/benefits) and Oliver Wyman (consulting). It directly competes with Howden across commercial broking, reinsurance, employee benefits and risk advisory at global enterprise scale.
• Aon: Aon is a top global professional services firm offering risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human capital consulting. It competes head-to-head with Howden in commercial brokerage, reinsurance placement (Aon Re), and employee benefits consulting for multinational clients.
• Willis Towers Watson (WTW): WTW is a global advisory, broking and solutions company combining insurance brokerage, reinsurance, and benefits administration. It competes with Howden across corporate risk and broking, Howden Re-equivalent capabilities, and benefits consulting for large employers.

Direct peers

• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Gallagher is a publicly listed global insurance brokerage and risk management firm with strong specialty and middle-market franchises, highly comparable to Howden in commercial broking, employee benefits consulting, and sector specialisms across the UK, US and international markets.
• Lockton: Lockton is the world's largest privately held (independent) insurance broker, directly comparable to Howden's independent, non-listed model. It competes in commercial insurance, employee benefits, and risk advisory with similar sector-specialist teams for mid-market and large corporate clients globally.
• Brown & Brown, Inc. Brown & Brown is a US-listed national insurance brokerage that has built scale via serial acquisitions, mirroring Howden's roll-up strategy. It competes in commercial P&C, employee benefits, and specialty programs with comparable mid-market and enterprise client focus.
• Hub International: Hub International is a North American-focused insurance brokerage backed by private equity (Hellman & Friedman, TPG). It competes with Howden in commercial P&C, employee benefits, and specialty lines for mid-market clients and has grown aggressively through acquisitions.
• Acrisure: Acrisure is a rapidly growing, PE-backed (Hg Capital) insurance broker that has used leveraged roll-ups to become a top global broker. It is a direct competitor to Howden in commercial brokerage, reinsurance, and specialty lines and a useful comparison for Howden's inorganic growth strategy.

Emerging players

• Alliant Insurance Services: Alliant is a US-based specialty-focused insurance brokerage that has grown rapidly through acquisitions and organic hiring. It competes with Howden's sector-specialist teams in areas such as real estate, construction, marine, financial institutions and public sector across mid-market and large accounts.

Others

• Barnett Waddingham: Barnett Waddingham is a UK actuarial, benefits and insurance consulting firm recently acquired by Howden. Pre-acquisition it competed with Howden's UK Employee Benefits and Risk Advisory divisions; included as a peer for context given the now-completed transaction.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/howden---specialist-insurance-broker
• Instagraminstagram.com/howdeninsurance
• Xx.com/perkinsslade

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Howden Insurance Brokers Limited