Independent brokers: standing out in a consolidating market

In early April, I attended the Feprabel 2026 Congress at the Aula Magna in Louvain-la-Neuve. Two days of conferences, encounters and discussions with brokers from across the country. And one question that kept surfacing everywhere, in the panels and in the hallways alike: what does it mean to be an independent broker in 2026?

It was during the CEO Connexions that the topic reached its full scope. The format is straightforward: a CEO from an insurance company facing two or three brokers, twenty minutes of direct questions, no filter. Christophe Hamal, CEO of Baloise Belgium, then Jan Peeters from Portima, then others. With each rotation, the same subject kept finding its way back to the table.

One broker asked the question bluntly: with consolidation accelerating, with groups acquiring everything around us, are we still truly independent brokers, or are we gradually becoming agents of a group?

That question stuck with me. Not because it was new, the entire sector is talking about it, but because it was asked right there, in front of the CEO of a company that works with 2,000 brokers of all sizes. Large acquiring groups, small human-scale firms, young professionals just starting out. The reality of the market, concentrated in one room.

A market consolidating before our eyes

The numbers speak for themselves. In just one year, 30 brokerage firms were acquired in Belgium. A third of those acquisitions came from just two players: the Hillewaere group, backed by the Dutch firm Alpina through Five Arrows Principal Investments, and the newly formed Induver Clover group, established in 2024 with backing from Hg Capital.

Across Europe, brokerage accounts for 90% of all M&A operations, with close to 700 deals announced in 2024. Over 60% of them are funded by private equity firms.

These are not hallway rumours. These are facts. And the funds reaching the end of their investment cycles are already preparing their exits and repositioning moves for 2026. The wave is not behind us.

The uncomfortable question: are you still identifiable?

What struck me most in conversations with the brokers at Feprabel is that the fear is not just financial. It is about identity.

When a group acquires a firm, the first thing that changes is the brand. The broker's name fades behind a group banner. The colours, the logo, the communication style, everything gets absorbed. The client who was searching for "their" broker on Google now lands on a group page, identical to fifty others.

But it is not only acquired brokers who face this problem. An independent broker with a generic website, a template identical to the one next door, with no visible personality, no displayed specialisation; how is he any different from a group agent in the eyes of a prospect discovering him online?

Independence is a legal status. But identity is something you build. And something you show.

Your website, your flag

Coming back from the congress, one thing seemed clear: the first place where a broker expresses their independence is online. Their website is their storefront, their voice, their way of presenting themselves to the world.

A site that carries your name, that reflects your specialisation, that shows your team and your advisory approach, that is what makes you identifiable. It is the difference between a firm that lives in the minds of its clients and a name among others in a group directory.

Conversely, a generic site that could belong to any broker sends an unintended signal: that you are interchangeable. That what sets you apart is not worth showing. That your independence is administrative, not real.

The brokers I met at Feprabel who seemed most at ease with consolidation had one thing in common: they knew exactly what made them different. And their clients knew it too, because it was visible from the very first Google search.

Getting stronger, not disappearing

Consolidation is neither good nor bad in itself. For some brokers, joining a group is a sound strategic choice. But for those who choose to remain independent, and many at Feprabel were proud to claim that choice, that independence must be visible, tangible, and identifiable.

In practice, this comes down to a few key levers. Having an online presence that carries your name and reflects your identity, not that of a template provider. Being listed locally on Google with your own business profile, your own reviews, your own story. Clearly displaying your specialisations, your partner insurers, your advisory approach. Showing your team, your offices, your roots, things no large group can ever reproduce with authenticity.

That is exactly what we build every day with BrokerWeb: websites that carry each broker's identity, not that of a platform.

The best answer to consolidation is not to shout louder. It is to exist, clearly, in your own way.