J.R. Peterman Associates

What J.R. Peterman Associates does

J.R. Peterman Associates, Inc. is a privately held, boutique insurance recruiting and search firm headquartered in Stowe, Vermont. Founded in 1982, the firm specializes in the placement of management and professional staff on a national basis for life and health insurance carriers, group insurance consultants and brokers, third party administrators, managing general underwriters, and travel assistance companies. Its core service lines are permanent placement recruiting and contract/interim staffing across all major insurance functions including actuarial, underwriting, claims, sales/marketing, compliance, product development, and account management. The firm is led by principal Jeremy Peterman, CPC, who brings approximately 20 years of management recruiting experience and a background in employee benefits.

The firm's primary operational asset is a substantial in-house database of pre-qualified candidates specializing in niche insurance segments including group health, stop loss, dental, PBM, life, LTD, STD, AD&D, leave/absence, travel assistance, supplemental health, BTA, student accident, and K-12 accident coverage. The company reports having filled thousands of vacancies over its 40-plus-year history, with client success measured in hundreds of millions of dollars in downstream earnings attributed to placed staff. There is no proprietary technology platform; the firm relies on traditional recruiting methodology, direct outreach, and candidate relationship management. Distribution is direct, with clients engaging via phone (802-253-6304) and email.

Revenue is generated through professional services fees tied to placements, structured in line with industry norms (typically a percentage of first-year compensation for permanent placements), though pricing is not publicly disclosed. No external funding, institutional investors, or parent company affiliations have been identified. The firm is founder/family-owned and operated by a small team of 1-10 employees from a single Vermont location, with no formalized marketing channels beyond personal referrals and industry reputation built over four decades.

Name

J.R. Peterman Associates

Legal name

J. R. Peterman Associates, Inc.

Website

https://jrpeterman.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

J.R. Peterman Associates is a privately held, boutique insurance recruiting firm founded in 1982 that places permanent and interim management and professional staff for life and health insurers, brokers, TPAs, MGUs, and travel assistance companies nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insurance Recruiting Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry) (BPACAFAA)

Keywords

• Insurance recruiting
• Executive search
• Permanent placement
• Interim staffing
• Talent acquisition

Headquarters

HQ city

Stowe

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Permanent Placement Recruiting: Contingency or retained search fees for placing permanent management and professional staff at insurance companies, brokers, and related organizations. Fees likely structured as a percentage of the placed candidate's salary.
2. Contract/Interim Staffing: Interim staffing solutions for special staffing needs, providing temporary professionals to fill gaps on a contract basis.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

J.R. Peterman Associates is a boutique insurance recruiting and search firm founded in 1982 that places professionals in permanent and contract (interim staffing) positions on a national basis for life and health insurers, travel assistance companies, group insurance brokers, third party administrators, and managing general underwriters. The firm performs searches across all insurance functions including accounting, account management, actuarial, administration, benefits consulting, claims, compliance/legal, sales/marketing, product development, and underwriting/pricing, supported by a substantial in-house candidate database specializing in niche insurance segments.

Product overview

J.R. Peterman Associates operates as a boutique recruiting and search firm serving the insurance industry since 1982. The company offers two core service lines: Permanent Placement Recruiting for filling full-time positions across all insurance functions (accounting, actuarial, underwriting, claims, compliance, sales/marketing, product development, and account management) and Contract (Interim Staffing) Placement for temporary workforce needs. Supporting these core services is a Specialty Candidate Database containing pre-qualified candidates across specialized insurance niches including group health, stop loss, dental, life/disability, travel assistance, supplemental health, and student accident coverage. The firm serves carriers, brokers, MGUs, and TPAs nationwide with a high-touch boutique approach.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Permanent Placement Recruiting
• Contract (Interim Staffing) Placement

Quantifiable outcome

• Hundreds of millions of dollars earned by clients as a direct result of placed management and professional staff
• +1 more outcomes

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Avery Associates: Insurance industry executive search firm placing senior-level professionals (underwriting, claims, actuarial, management). Directly comparable in targeted insurance vertical and senior placement focus.
• The Jacobson Group: Long-established insurance-focused recruiting and staffing firm serving carriers, brokers, and TPAs across the U.S. Directly comparable to J.R. Peterman Associates in industry vertical (insurance), service mix (permanent and contract placement), and boutique-to-mid-sized positioning.
• Insurance Recruiting Specialists: Niche insurance industry recruiting firm focused on placing professionals at carriers, brokers, and TPAs. Directly comparable in industry specialization and contingency/retained search service model.
• QuestPro Consultants: Insurance and financial services recruiting firm placing professionals across underwriting, claims, sales, and actuarial roles. Directly comparable in insurance vertical specialization and function-by-function recruiting model.
• Pryor Personnel Agency: Specialized insurance industry executive search and recruiting firm. Comparable in niche focus on insurance carriers and brokerages, and in operating as a focused boutique serving similar client segments.
• Berkshire Professional Search: Insurance and financial services executive search firm. Directly comparable in insurance vertical specialization and senior/management-level placement focus.

Broad incumbents

• Korn Ferry: Global organizational consulting firm with a large executive search practice serving the insurance industry. Comparable in senior insurance executive placement, but operates as a broad incumbent across multiple industries.
• Robert Half: Large publicly traded staffing and recruiting firm with a dedicated insurance practice. Comparable in permanent placement service for insurance employers, but operates at much larger scale with a tech-enabled sourcing platform that J.R. Peterman lacks.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search firm with a financial services and insurance practice. Comparable in placing senior insurance leaders, but serves a broader cross-industry client base with significantly larger scale.

Others

• The Hanover Insurance Group Recruiting: Internal recruiting function of a major regional insurer; not a direct recruiter competitor but representative of in-sourcing trends where carriers build internal talent teams instead of engaging boutique search firms like J.R. Peterman.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/j-r-peterman-associates-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 J.R. Peterman Associates