The year 2025 saw numerous major transactions across the insurance industry. All segments were affected, including both insurance providers and distributors.
Large brokerage firms set the tone early in 2025, and the momentum continued through to December. One of the year’s most significant transactions across the insurance sector occurred on December 3, when brokerages Navacord and Acera announced their intention to merge operations.
The Navacord banner will now include 150 offices and more than 5,000 insurance and financial services professionals, making it the largest privately held brokerage in the country. The transaction, which is being governed under Alberta legislation, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.
The combined volume of the two firms will reach approximately $7.2 billion, including both property and casualty insurance and employee benefits premium. The company will also have $7.5 billion in retirement assets under management. Prior to this merger, Navacord had completed smaller transactions announced in January and August in British Columbia.
At a CIBC conference in late September, Patrick Barbeau, Executive Vice-President at Intact Financial Corporation, outlined the company’s vertical integration strategy, particularly in broker-based distribution, where its subsidiary BrokerLink is targeting $5 billion in premium volume. In 2025, BrokerLink expanded its presence in another province: British Columbia.
In the first quarter of 2025, BrokerLink announced acquisitions primarily in Western Canada, including one in Newfoundland and Labrador. By mid-December, the company announced the acquisition of four more firms in Alberta. BrokerLink now has more than 200 offices and approximately 4,000 employees. In total, the company completed 21 transactions in 2025, a company spokesperson told Insurance Portal December 19.
Other brokerage giants were also active in 2025, including Arthur J. Gallagher in Ontario in January and Hub International in Alberta in March.
Elsewhere in Canada, a major brokerage group was formed in the Atlantic region in January, with Synex Business Performance Group holding a minority stake.
Synex itself added a 21st affiliated firm in February, BMB Assurance, based in the Valleyfield area. In April, Synex announced it had secured two institutional investors to acquire BBH Capital Partners’ stake. Two days later, Synex announced a partnership with FSB Group, allowing it to establish a presence in the Toronto area.
Other firms
In March, two transactions involving life and group insurance were announced. First, Sterling Park Financial Group was acquired by MNP. Two weeks later, Cowan Group joined Assurex Global.
In November, AGA Group announced the acquisition of the group insurance portfolio of Groupe financier Powers.
Claims adjusting
Another major transaction was announced on November 10. London-based professional services and insurance technology firm Davies announced it had reached an agreement to acquire SCM Insurance Services, the largest claims and risk management firm in Canada.
SCM includes three divisions and employs approximately 1,500 professionals in Canada and the United States: ClaimsPro/Indemnipro, its loss adjusting arm; IPG, its third-party claims administrator; and Pario, which specializes in forensic engineering, consulting and post-loss appraisals. SCM’s institutional shareholders, Warburg Pincus and TorQuest Partners, are reinvesting their proceeds to become minority shareholders in Davies. They will join existing Davies investors BC Partners, HGGC, and Alberta Investment Management Corporation.
Meanwhile in October, CRU Group (Catastrophe Response Unit), a claims adjusting firm whose Canadian subsidiary is based in Toronto, entered the Quebec market for the first time through a deal with Authentik.
Among insurers
Major insurance companies—across property and casualty, life, and group insurance—were also active in the mergers and acquisitions space over the past 12 months.
Three insurers stood out in particular. The first is Definity Financial Corporation, which in May acquired the P&C operations of Travelers Canada. Later, during financial sector conferences in September and in November, CEO Rowan Saunders discussed the integration efforts underway and the company’s growth ambitions. Earlier in March, Swiss Re had announced the sale of a significant portion of its Definity shares.
The second standout was Desjardins, which in August announced a major transaction involving Guardian Capital Group. That deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.
The third insurer, iA Financial Group, acquired RF Capital in July, adding roughly $40 billion in assets under administration. Shareholders of the acquired firm approved the deal in September. Earlier, in February, iA had expanded its auto dealership network by acquiring Global Warranty, a provider of extended warranties in Ontario’s used car market. In May, during the company’s annual shareholders meeting, CEO Denis Ricard had shared his growth ambitions with the Insurance Portal.
Mutual insurers were also active in M&A throughout 2025. In January, Beneva made a key move to expand outside Quebec by acquiring Gore Mutual, the oldest mutual insurer in the country.
Later in the spring, Promutuel Group continued the consolidation of its mutuals. One of the two former mutuals that now make up Promutuel Côte-Est is also active in New Brunswick.
In April, Foresters Financial acquired a group annuity block from Sun Life Financial. In November, Sun Life announced it had taken over the pensioner annuities of Fraser Papers.
In June, UV Insurance acquired a block of life insurance policies from Bank of Montreal Insurance. In August, Manulife announced it had acquired Comvest Credit Partners.
In September, The Co-operators added a distribution agency in Quebec by acquiring a brokerage based in the Quebec City region. In October, On Side Restoration—an Intact Financial Corporation subsidiary—announced a deal involving a restoration firm operating in the Montérégie region.
Managing general agencies
Managing general agencies (MGA) and other intermediaries underwriting risk under delegated authority from insurers also saw activity in 2025.
At the end of March, U.S.-based Totalis Program Underwriters, a subsidiary of NFP, made its first move into the Canadian market by acquiring CHES Special Risks.
The transaction sparked upheaval at CHES in Quebec, where two of its most experienced underwriters confirmed their departure in July 2025. In October, those same individuals—Gabriel Morneau and Laurence Dubé—launched Assurance Image via an MGA that was part of a brokerage firm.
Last spring, Revau Advanced Underwriting announced two strategic partnerships within two days. On May 12, the company announced it had acquired two Texas-based MGAs. The next day, the Tecassur team joined Revau. Later, Revau CEO Jean-François Raymond provided an update on U.S. operations after relocating to the Dallas area. Around the same time, financial services fund Novacap announced the creation of a continuation vehicle to support Revau’s North American growth.
Insurtech
In July, Zurich Insurance Group announced the acquisition of Toronto-based BOXX Insurance, a cybersecurity-focused technology firm.
In September, Emma and YouSet, two firms specializing in digital insurance distribution, announced a partnership to improve sales in life and property and casualty insurance.
In November, Guidewire, a major provider of customer management platforms for insurance companies, announced the acquisition of ProNavigator.
Consolidation in Quebec
Meanwhile in Quebec, the broker distribution network continued to consolidate. Big brokerages remained active in acquisition-driven growth.
Early in the year, brokerage La Turquoise announced a merger with two other Intact agencies, Harmoniaand DPJL. In July, Essor Assurances acquired Prima Assurances, based in Terrebonne. In August, Ellipse Assurances—a firm created in late 2023 from the merger of two other Intact agencies—announced it had acquired AccèsConseil. In November, veteran broker Ted Harman sold his firm to MP2B.
Independent broker François Lemieux, president of Lemieux Assurances, also continued to grow his firm through acquisitions announced in January (Manon Simoneau), in May (Assurance TCM), and in August (Garant Assurances).
Other transactions were completed in March by Groupe DPA Assurances and in August by Consilium.
