As mentioned in the Market Update section, longer holding periods in today’s macro environment are leading to larger portfolios and more time to enhance EBITDA at an operational level. Many PE firms are significantly expanding their internal portfolio operations groups, which consult and advise portfolio companies on operational improvements.

This trend supports our belief that PE professionals will continue to focus on incremental improvements—small or large—to improve a company’s margins in 2026 and beyond. One of those ways is most certainly the business insurance and employee benefits programs.

As portfolio companies begin evaluating margin improvement opportunities, we expect they will continue to focus on reviewing insurance and risk management programs as well as employee benefit programs to ensure they are optimizing efficiencies and mitigating, transferring, or accepting risk where necessary.

An insurance broker who specializes in private equity knows the levers that can be pulled to improve the overall program—thereby optimizing and improving EBITDA margin. On the property and casualty side, funds are using insurance advisors to look for ways to improve retention and limit management while maximizing cost savings. Additionally, many firms are turning to portfolio-style management liability programs (directors & officers liability, employment practices liability, fiduciary liability, and commercial crime) that bundle exposures and coverages across the portfolio to reduce costs.