Dowling Hales review: agency valuation, M&A advice and fees
Dowling Hales is an investment bank that works only in insurance. It runs sales of agencies, brokers and MGAs, values private insurance businesses and raises debt and equity.
It suits larger agencies and specialty firms that want a competitive sale run by a securities-registered firm. It publishes no fees and no size range.
- Best for
- Larger agencies, MGAs and specialty firms that want a full competitive sale
- Works for
- Sellers and buyers, in separate engagements
- Services
- Sale advice, valuation, fairness opinions and capital raising
Our take
Dowling Hales is built for a full sale process. It writes the confidential sale book, finds buyers, runs a competitive process and negotiates the terms.
Its listed deals include retail agencies, MGAs and wholesalers sold to buyers such as AmWINS, OneDigital and Risk Placement Services. It posts no size range, so a small agency should ask early whether it takes deals its size.
Securities work runs through its broker-dealer, Dowling & Partners Securities. In each listed deal, that broker-dealer represented the agency being sold.
Pros
- Runs a competitive sale with a confidential memorandum and buyer outreach
- A long list of dated 2025 and 2026 sales on its site
- Fairness opinions and full narrative valuation reports
- Debt and equity raising alongside M&A
- Covers MGAs, wholesalers, program managers and other specialty firms
Cons
- No published size range or minimum
- Valuation method and adjustments aren't described on its site
- Fees and engagement terms aren't published
- Advises buyers as well as sellers
Who they work for
Sellers
In every deal on its transactions page, its broker-dealer represented the business being sold. The firm aims to position the agency for the highest price.
Buyers
Dowling Hales also offers M&A advice to buyers. Its site lists no buyer-side deals.
An investment bank on both sides of the market. Dowling Hales advises sellers and buyers, and its broker-dealer also helps manage public stock offerings. Ask whether it has worked for the buyers bidding on your agency.
Services
| Service | What you get |
|---|---|
| Sale advice | Positioning, a confidential sale book, buyer outreach, financial models, a competitive process, negotiation and document review |
| Valuation | For mergers, gift and estate taxes, buy-sell agreements, perpetuation, equity pay plans, disputes and ESOPs |
| Fairness opinions | An independent opinion that a deal's price is fair to the owners |
| Capital raising | Private placements of debt and equity, from planning through closing |
| Benchmarking | Advice on measuring the agency against peers to build long-term value |
Agencies they work with
- Types
- Retail agencies and brokers, benefits firms, MGAs and MGUs, wholesalers, program managers, carriers, claims administrators, insurtechs and general agencies
- Where
- United States and Canada
How they value an agency
Terms on this page in plain words
- ESOP
- An employee stock ownership plan, a trust that lets employees own part of the company
- Perpetuation
- Passing ownership to partners, producers or family instead of selling to an outside buyer
- Success fee
- A fee paid to the advisor when the sale closes, often a share of the price
- Retainer
- A fee paid up front or monthly while the advisor works, whether or not a deal closes
- Tail
- A set period after the agreement ends when you still owe the fee if you sell to a buyer the advisor introduced
Valuation reports, cost and timing
- Report types
- A full narrative report with supporting exhibits, or a shorter custom deliverable
- Valuation lead
- Etan Finkel, Director of Business Valuation
Selling your agency with them
Positioning
Dowling Hales shapes how the agency is presented to buyers.
Sale book
It writes the confidential memorandum and builds the financial model.
Buyers
It identifies likely buyers and runs a competitive process among them.
Terms and documents
It negotiates the financial terms and reviews the deal documents through closing.
Succession and after the sale
For owners planning an inside handoff, Dowling Hales values the business for buy-sell agreements and perpetuation. It doesn't describe a separate succession planning program.
Credentials and transactions
- Securities firm
- Dowling & Partners Securities, LLC, a FINRA and SIPC member
- Research
- The Hales Report, its own ranking of the top 100 U.S. agents and brokers, by subscription
Recent transactions
| Deal | Year | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Joseph Chiarello & Co. to AmWINS Group | 2026 | Seller advisor |
| Infinity Assurance Group to Keystone Agency Partners | 2026 | Seller advisor |
| Midwest Insurance Agency to OneDigital | 2026 | Seller advisor |
| W.N. Tuscano Agency to Risk Placement Services | 2026 | Seller advisor |
| Med James to Risk Placement Services | 2026 | Seller advisor |
| Jackson-Lloyd to AmWINS Group | 2026 | Seller advisor |
Its site lists more 2025 and 2026 sales.
Fees and engagement terms
Dowling Hales doesn't publish its fees. Its site shows no retainer, success fee, expense or tail terms.
Before you sign, ask
- The success fee and any minimum fee
- Whether a monthly or upfront retainer applies and is credited back
- How long you are exclusive to Dowling Hales
- How long the tail lasts after the agreement ends
- Which costs it bills on top
Dowling Hales alternatives
- MarshBerryQuote onlyInvestment bank that represents one client per deal
- Sica | FletcherFees not publishedFounding partner leads every deal
- Reagan ConsultingFees not publishedSays how its success fees are set
- M&A ServicesQuote onlyControlled auctions plus loans to buy agencies
- Mercer CapitalQuote onlyValuations and fairness opinions with a stated turnaround
See every option in insurance agency valuation.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Dowling Hales charge?
Its site shows no valuation price or success fee rate. Ask for both in the engagement agreement.
Does Dowling Hales represent sellers or buyers?
Both. Every sale on its transactions page had its broker-dealer representing the business being sold.
What kinds of insurance businesses does it sell?
Retail agencies, benefits firms, MGAs, wholesalers, program managers and other specialty firms in the U.S. and Canada.
Is Dowling Hales regulated?
Its securities work runs through Dowling & Partners Securities, a broker-dealer registered with FINRA, the industry regulator, and covered by SIPC, which protects customer accounts.
How we researched this review. We based this review on the terms and product pages published by Dowling Hales, reviewed in October 2026, together with our team's experience working with insurance agents and agency owners since 2008.
Corrections
Vendors change their pricing all the time and they don't email us when they do. So if you see a price on here that's gone up, a plan Dowling Hales quit selling or a contract term that reads different now, let us know and send the link to the page where Dowling Hales has it. Somebody here pulls up that page and checks it before we change anything on ours.