The Murphius Group

What The Murphius Group does

The Murphius Group is a privately held, boutique insurance industry search firm headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, founded in 2014. The firm is founder-led, with Bradley Rowe serving as Principal Recruiter and Murphy Rowe as CFO/Chief Fun Officer, operating with a small team of 1–10 employees. It is exclusively vertical-specialized: every engagement serves insurance carriers, independent agencies, brokerages, Managing General Agents, and corporate clients with insurance or risk functions, and its recruiters themselves carry prior carrier-side experience in claims, underwriting, and underwriting management along with industry designations such as CPCU, ARM, CRIS, MLIS, and LIC.

The firm delivers three service lines: Contingency Search, where the client pays a placement fee only upon successful hire; Retained Search, used for higher-priority executive mandates requiring dedicated precedence and milestone-based fees; and Executive Assessment, an add-on that supplies behavioral testing, reference checks, employment/criminal/MVR/credit verification, education and licensing checks, and drug-screening criteria. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and the firm does not publish rate cards. All fees are paid by employer clients; candidates are the deliverable and pay nothing.

The go-to-market is sales-led and direct, with a selective, high-touch client list and no intermediaries or marketplace listings. Candidate acquisition is supported by a self-serve job board on themurphiusgroup.com with job alerts and social sharing to LinkedIn, Facebook, and X, while client acquisition relies on regional insurance association memberships (MIA, West Michigan Association, CPCU Society, MIPIA, SHRM, Gamma Iota Sigma, and Olivet College) and word-of-mouth referrals. Geographic focus is Michigan and the broader Midwest, including Ohio. The firm has no proprietary technology platform, no AI/ML capabilities, no external funding, and no disclosed revenue, operating as an independent, bootstrapped search practice.

Name

The Murphius Group

Legal name

The Murphius Group

Website

https://themurphiusgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Murphius Group is a privately held, boutique insurance recruiting firm in Grand Rapids, Michigan, executing contingency and retained executive search plus candidate assessment for carriers, independent agencies, brokerages, MGAs, and corporate insurance buyers across Michigan and the broader Midwest.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Insurance Recruiting Services

NAICS

Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Sector, Education & Nonprofit Leadership Search (BPACAAAI)

Keywords

• Insurance recruiting
• Executive search
• Talent placement
• Insurance staffing
• Contingency recruiting

Headquarters

HQ city

Grand Rapids

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

Revenue model

1. Contingency Recruiting Fees: For general search needs, the firm works to connect clients with talent and only charges a fee if a placement is made. This is a success-based, one-time placement fee model.
2. Retained Search Fees: For higher-priority searches requiring greater urgency and exclusivity, the firm conducts retained searches. The client search is given utmost precedence. Fees are likely structured as upfront or milestone retainers tied to the retained engagement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Murphius Group is a boutique insurance recruiting firm that connects insurance carriers, independent agencies, brokerages, MGAs, and corporate clients with qualified insurance professionals across Michigan and the broader Midwest. Services are delivered through contingency search (success-based placement fees) and retained search (priority engagement for urgent executive searches), supplemented by executive assessment services such as background checks and behavioral testing.

Product overview

The Murphius Group is a focused insurance industry recruitment firm offering two primary service lines: Executive Search & Recruitment Services (delivered via Contingency and Retained search models) and Executive Assessment Services. The Contingency Search serves general hiring needs with success-based fees, while Retained Search provides dedicated priority engagement for urgent executive placements. Executive Assessment Services complements both by offering candidate screening through behavioral assessments, background verification, and compliance checks. These services collectively serve insurance carriers, independent agencies, brokerages, MGAs, and corporate clients across Michigan and the Midwest.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Contingency Search Services
• Retained Search Services
• Executive Assessment Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Placed multiple candidates at growing agencies within short timeframes (e.g., two placements within six months for one agency).

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Michigan Independent Insurance Agents (MIA)minorOthersProfessional association affiliation. The Murphius Group belongs to local organizations and associations that share its passion for the insurance market in Michigan and the surrounding area.
• West Michigan AssociationminorOthersProfessional association affiliation within the West Michigan insurance community. Supports the firm's local networking and candidate/client referral ecosystem.
• CPCU SocietyminorOthersProfessional association for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters. The firm's principal recruiter, Bradley Rowe, holds the CPCU designation, indicating personal and firm-level affiliation.
• MIPIA (Michigan Professional Insurance Association)minorOthersMichigan Professional Insurance Association affiliation. Another professional insurance association supporting the firm's industry network and credibility.
• Olivet CollegeminorOthersEducational institution affiliation. Bradley Rowe is involved with Olivet College and its insurance programs, supporting future talent pipeline and professional community engagement.
• Gamma Iota SigmaminorOthersNational risk management, insurance, and actuarial science collegiate organization. Affiliation supports recruiting of emerging insurance talent.
• SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management)minorOthersHR professional association affiliation. Supports the firm's HR practice area and professional credibility in human resources recruiting.
• Human Resources Group of West Michigan (SHRM Chapter)minorOthersLocal SHRM chapter affiliation in West Michigan, reinforcing the firm's regional HR recruiting capabilities and community presence.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Jacobson Group: The Jacobson Group is one of the largest dedicated insurance talent and consulting firms in the U.S., offering executive search, staffing, and consulting to insurance carriers, agencies, and TPAs. It is the most direct comparator to The Murphius Group's insurance-only recruiting model, but operates at materially greater scale and geographic breadth.
• Insurance Relief: Insurance Relief is a specialized insurance staffing and recruiting firm focused exclusively on the insurance industry, providing direct-hire, temporary, and temp-to-hire placements. It directly competes with The Murphius Group in the same customer segment (carriers, agencies, brokerages) using a similar vertical-only positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Robert Half: Robert Half is a large, publicly traded staffing and recruiting firm with dedicated practice areas including insurance and risk management. It competes with The Murphius Group for mid-market and operational insurance placements and offers a national/international footprint the boutique cannot replicate.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Heidrick & Struggles is a global executive search firm with a dedicated Financial Services practice that serves insurance carriers and insurance-related clients. It competes for retained executive search mandates that The Murphius Group targets, but at significantly larger scale and broader industry coverage.
• Russell Reynolds Associates: Russell Reynolds Associates is a global executive search firm with a Financial Services sector practice that includes insurance industry clients. It competes for C-suite and senior leadership retained searches where The Murphius Group also engages, though at materially larger deal sizes and geographies.
• Spencer Stuart: Spencer Stuart is a leading global executive search and leadership advisory firm with a Financial Services practice serving insurance carriers and financial institutions. It is a competing provider for retained executive searches where The Murphius Group also operates, though at the very top of the market and globally.
• Aerotek: Aerotek is a national staffing and recruiting firm (part of Allegis Group) that places professionals across insurance, claims, and risk management functions. It overlaps with The Murphius Group on operational and claims-adjacent insurance placements, but at scale and with technology-enabled sourcing capabilities.
• Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting firm with a substantial executive search practice spanning financial services, including insurance. It competes with The Murphius Group for senior insurance leadership mandates and benefits from cross-geography coverage the boutique cannot match.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fthemurphiusgroup.com%2F
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-murphius-group-llc

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 The Murphius Group