Marcus & Millichap named Brown & Brown its preferred partner for insurance and risk management, the first specialty service added to the brokerage's newly launched Preferred Partner Program.
Brown & Brown's organic revenue growth was flat in the first quarter of 2026, even as total revenue jumped 35.4% to $1.9 billion on the strength of acquisitions. Rivals Marsh McLennan, Aon and Arthur J. Gallagher each posted stronger organic growth over the same stretch.
Brown & Brown executives tied the softness partly to catastrophe property rates that fell 15% to 35% during the quarter — a decline that squeezes premium-driven commission revenue even when deal volume holds steady.
Marcus & Millichap's own first-quarter results, reported in early May, showed a different trend. Revenue rose 18% year-over-year to $171.5 million — the brokerage's strongest first quarter in four years — as commercial real estate transaction counts climbed 7% and dollar volume rose 27% compared with the same period in 2025. The company's net loss narrowed to $3.1 million from $4.4 million a year earlier, and CEO Hessam Nadji said the results left the firm "well-positioned to leverage the ongoing market recovery."
The partnership gives Brown & Brown's National Real Estate Practice access to Marcus & Millichap's network of 1,808 investment sales and financing professionals across more than 80 offices in the US and Canada — a brokerage that closed 8,818 transactions worth $50.8 billion in 2025.
Marcus & Millichap launched the Preferred Partner Program weeks earlier to connect clients with vetted providers across insurance, tax strategy, operations and risk management; Brown & Brown is the first organization named to the insurance category.
"Insurance has become a critical component of investment analysis and transaction execution," said Richard Matricaria, chief growth officer of Marcus & Millichap. "Brown & Brown provides our clients with valuable insurance and risk insights earlier in the investment process, helping them evaluate opportunities and execute transactions with greater confidence."
Dan Cioci, executive vice president and director of Brown & Brown's National Real Estate Practice, said the arrangement works in both directions. "As insurance costs continue to play a larger role in valuation and execution, commercial real estate investors are seeking greater clarity early in the transaction process," Cioci said. "Marcus & Millichap's scale, long-standing investor relationships and national platform make them an ideal partner for Brown & Brown. Together, we are helping investors refine acquisition pricing assumptions, better evaluate risk and move through deals with greater confidence."
Commercial property rates are stabilizing in 2026 as reinsurance capacity returns, but liability coverage continues to harden amid rising litigation costs, and replacement-cost gaps between insured values and construction costs are widening. Analysts have noted that a premium adjustment of as little as $80,000 on a mid-size asset can push a deal's debt-service coverage ratio below a lender's minimum threshold.
Under the agreement, Brown & Brown will provide data-driven insurance indications, portfolio reviews, catastrophe modeling and due diligence support, along with access to carriers and specialty markets serving commercial real estate investors.
