Top Insurance Executive Search Firms And Recruiters
David Roberts
CEO and Founder of ReVerb
10.11.2026
The best insurance executive search firms know the difference between running a mutual carrier, a PE-backed brokerage roll-up and a Lloyd’s syndicate, and they recruit accordingly. Good insurance executive recruiters can find a chief underwriting officer with the right line of business, a CFO who understands statutory accounting and reserving, or a CEO for an MGA who has dealt with capacity providers. The firms below range from a family-owned specialist that works only in insurance to global firms whose financial services practices run hundreds of insurance assignments a year.
Every firm was checked against its own website for its insurance focus, the segments and roles it covers, its services and its location, and facts we could not confirm were left out. The ranking is editorial. For background on fees, timelines and process, see our executive search hub and our guide to the executive search process.
Executive search, board advisory, leadership development
Heidrick & Struggles
Chicago, Illinois
Digital, technology and C-suite roles at insurers
Executive search, leadership consulting, CEO and board roundtables
Caldwell
Toronto, Canada
North American, Bermuda and London market carriers
Executive and board search, CEO succession
DSG
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
P&C, reinsurance, brokerage and insurtech
Executive search, board and governance advisory
Stanton Chase
Global network (insurance practice centered in London)
Underwriting, claims and actuarial leadership
Executive search, leadership advisory
JM Search
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
PE-backed brokers, MGAs and TPAs
Retained executive search
Kaye/Bassman International
Dallas, Texas
Brokerage producers, carrier underwriters and TPA leaders
Retained and contingency executive and professional search
LaMorte Search Associates
Florida, US
Confidential searches for brokers and mid-size carriers
Insurance executive recruiting
Best Insurance Executive Search Firms In 2026
1. The Jacobson Group — Family-Owned Firm Working Exclusively In Insurance Since 1971
The Jacobson Group is a family-owned firm based in Chicago that traces its roots to 1971, when David Jacobson, an underwriter, laid its foundations. It now runs executive search and staffing exclusively for the insurance industry and is led by his sons, Greg and Rick Jacobson. The firm describes more than 50 years of board, CEO, C-suite and senior executive engagements within insurance.
Its executive search team covers health, life, and property and casualty insurance, and the firm says its recruiters are typically no more than one relationship away from any professional in an insurance role. Because Jacobson also runs insurance staffing, which it started in 1993 under the Insurance Staffers name, it has market data on compensation and hiring well below the C-suite. That breadth helps carriers that need a new executive and the team beneath them.
Board, CEO and C-suite search within insurance only
Health, life and P&C sector coverage
Insurance staffing alongside executive search
2. Spencer Stuart — Insurance Practice With A Large Share Of Industry Board Work
Spencer Stuart’s insurance practice sits within its financial services group. The firm states that it has conducted more than 425 senior executive and board assignments in insurance over the past three years and performs the largest share of board work in the industry, with a 97% placement retention rate.
Clients span capital market solutions, health insurance, life insurance and retirement products, services companies, property and casualty insurance, reinsurance, insurance brokerage and risk management, and industry associations. Its consultants include former industry executives who work on product management, alternative distribution, offshore operations, risk and capital management, and governance. Its recent insurance research looks at how life insurers move toward an advice-led model, which points to where it adds most value: board and CEO decisions tied to a change in strategy.
3. Egon Zehnder — Global Insurance Practice Focused On CEO And Board Searches
Insurance makes up a substantial portion of Egon Zehnder’s financial services practice, which has more than 50 consultants across the major financial centers. The firm reports about 270 insurance assignments a year, nearly half of them searches for CEOs or board members, and says it works with seven of the 10 largest global insurance institutions.
A high share of its insurance assignments involve cross-border work, which the firm handles through a one-firm model that rewards collaboration across regions rather than regional profit centers. It has also seen growing demand for chief transformation officers and for leaders who can rebuild IT, cybersecurity and digital distribution. That makes it a strong option for multinational insurers and reinsurers hiring for group-level roles or bridging into insurtech partnerships.
4. Heidrick & Struggles — Insurance Practice Running More Than 200 Searches A Year
Heidrick & Struggles says its insurance practice consultants lead more than 200 searches a year for senior executives across a broad range of insurance sectors. The practice pairs search with consulting on leadership development, team assessment and culture for insurers going through transformation.
Its insurance page notes a 600% increase in CTO and CDO placements since 2021, which reflects how much insurer hiring now centers on digital, data and AI leadership. The firm also hosts regular roundtables for insurance CEOs, CFOs and board members, led by its global insurance sector lead. Insurers recruiting a first chief data officer or rebuilding the technology function will find relevant experience here, as will boards that want peer context on InsurTech and generative AI.
5. Caldwell — Global Insurance Practice Covering Bermuda And The London Market
Caldwell was founded in 1970, became one of the first publicly listed executive search firms in 1989 (TSX: CWL) and describes itself as the only Canadian-owned, top-20 global search firm. Its global insurance practice places executives in CEO, regional and divisional management, underwriting, claims and actuarial, risk and finance, operations and technology, distribution, legal, compliance and audit roles, as well as board directors.
The practice covers property and casualty insurers, life and annuity carriers, reinsurers, and brokerage and services providers. Clients include stock companies, mutual insurers, regional and super-regional carriers, fraternal insurers, PE portfolio companies and captives, across the US and Canada, Bermuda, the London market, continental Europe and the Middle East. The team also handles CEO succession and board renewal, so it fits mutuals and fraternals planning a leadership transition.
6. DSG — Insurance Practice From Personal Lines To Insurtech
DSG Global has run executive search since 1974 and has a dedicated insurance practice led by a global insurance practice leader. It covers personal and commercial property and casualty insurance, health and ancillary health insurance, retirement, reinsurance, brokerage, workers compensation, insurtech and professional services.
Searches are senior-led, and the team includes people with client-side insurance experience. The firm points to work around regulatory change, mergers, globalization and new product launches, and it has a long record of building diverse leadership slates. DSG also runs board and governance advisory and specialist practices for legal, risk and compliance officers, which helps when an insurer is hiring a general counsel or chief risk officer alongside a business leader, since both searches can run through one firm with a shared view of the candidate market.
7. Stanton Chase — London-Centered Insurance Practice With Functional Depth In Underwriting And Claims
Stanton Chase, founded in 1990, centers its global insurance practice in London and has consultants in the other major insurance centers. The firm says its insurance consultants have more than 30 years of experience in executive search in the industry and have worked with companies at every stage, from startups to runoffs, and under every form of ownership, from private to mutual to publicly traded.
Market segments include life and pensions intermediaries, advisors and companies; property and casualty brokers and underwriters; and reinsurance brokers and underwriters. Beyond C-level roles such as CEO, COO, CFO and CTO, its specialization is in key executives for actuarial, claims, investment management, risk management and underwriting. That functional focus suits carriers and MGAs that need a proven chief underwriting officer or head of claims.
8. JM Search — Retained Search For PE-Backed Brokers, MGAs And Insurtech
JM Search is a retained executive search firm with 45 years of history and a focus on private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Its insurance practice works with insurance distribution (retail and wholesale brokers, agencies, MGAs and MGUs), claims, TPAs and insurance services, carriers and reinsurance intermediaries, and insurtech businesses in software, data, claims technology and digital distribution.
Typical roles include CEO, president, CFO, chief accounting officer, COO, chief revenue officer, CIO and CTO. The firm has corporate locations in 13 US markets, with its Philadelphia-area office in King of Prussia, and offers global reach through an alliance with Amrop. For a PE sponsor running a brokerage roll-up and needing a CFO who can handle acquisitions and integration, JM Search’s PE focus is the main draw.
Kaye/Bassman was founded in 1981 and is based in Dallas. It runs practices across more than 15 specialties, including a dedicated insurance and risk management team led by a practice leader and several managing directors. The firm offers both retained and contingency options, which gives buyers flexibility on terms, and it customizes its process and relationship terms to each client under what it calls its Client Focused Search approach.
Its insurance recruiters focus on retail brokers, wholesale brokers, carrier underwriters, TPAs and managed care units. Roles placed include executives, insurance producers, commercial lines managers, employee benefits consultants, independent adjusters, wholesale brokers and account managers. That makes Kaye/Bassman more of a fit for brokerages and regional carriers filling senior and revenue-producing roles than for a global insurer’s group CEO search.
LaMorte Search Associates is a national insurance executive recruiting boutique founded by Bill and Michelle LaMorte, both veterans of the insurance industry. The firm runs all searches confidentially and lists among its clients prominent insurance companies and brokers as well as mid-sized firms.
Its partners are members of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society, the Association of Professional Insurance Women and the Association of Insurance Compliance Professionals, which signals its depth in professional liability and compliance roles. The process starts with a detailed profile of the client’s culture and preferences, and the firm stays in touch with both client and candidate after placement to make sure the match holds. It suits smaller carriers and brokers that want founder-level attention on a single senior hire.
How To Choose An Insurance Executive Search Firm
Do You Need An Insurance-Only Firm?
An insurance-only firm such as Jacobson knows the talent pool for underwriting, claims and actuarial roles in detail. Global firms bring board advisory, cross-border reach and candidates from adjacent industries, which helps for digital and transformation roles. For a CEO search at a large insurer, many boards shortlist one of each.
Retained Or Contingency For Insurance Executives?
Retained search is the norm for C-suite, board and confidential replacement searches, because the firm commits a team and maps the whole market. Contingency recruiters suit producer and mid-level roles where several firms may work the same opening. Our guide to retained vs contingency search explains the tradeoffs.
How Much Do Insurance Executive Search Firms Charge?
Retained search typically costs about one-third of the executive’s first-year total cash compensation, paid in installments. For producer roles, ask how the firm treats commission and book-of-business payments in the fee base. Get the fee basis, expense policy and replacement guarantee in writing before the search starts.
How Should Finalists Be Evaluated?
Insurance leaders are judged on underwriting discipline, reserving judgment and regulatory relationships, which are hard to read from an interview. Ask the firm how it tests these through structured referencing and assessment. Our executive assessment guide covers the main methods, and our guide to CEO succession planning helps boards plan the top job ahead of time.
What Should You Ask Before You Sign?
Ask who will run the search day to day, which comparable roles the firm has filled in your segment, and which carriers or brokers it cannot recruit from because they are current clients. Off-limits lists can rule out much of a small specialty market. To compare these firms with generalists, see our list of the best executive search firms.
Conclusion
The right insurance executive search firm depends on your segment and the seat. Jacobson and LaMorte work only in insurance. Spencer Stuart, Egon Zehnder, Heidrick & Struggles and Caldwell bring global board and CEO practices. DSG, Stanton Chase, JM Search and Kaye/Bassman cover specific needs, from reinsurance underwriting to PE-backed brokerage platforms. Ask each shortlisted firm for comparable recent searches and a named team before you commit.
For guides on fees, assessment, onboarding and succession, visit the executive search hub.
