Group Health Broker Benchmarks
How many employer groups a benefits agency keeps year over year, what good versus average looks like, why groups leave, and what each point of persistency is worth to the value of the book. Retention is the single biggest driver of what an agency is worth.
Persistency is the percent of groups (or revenue) that stays with the agency from one year to the next. It matters more than new-business production, because a book can grow on the top line while quietly eroding underneath if churn outruns what the agency replaces. For a growing agency, persistency is the multiplier on every group added, and the metric buyers scrutinize first.
Table 1: Persistency by agency tier
| Tier | Retention | What it signals |
|---|---|---|
| Top-performing | 96%+ | Annuity-like, premium sale multiple |
| Strong | 90%–95% | Above the buyer “quality” threshold |
| Average | 80%–88% | Typical; leaks value over time |
| At risk | Below 80% | Leaky bucket, discounted at sale |
The 90% line is the one that matters most at sale. Buyers treat 90%+ as the threshold where a book reads as a stable, financeable annuity. Slipping below it does not just cost you renewals, it re-rates the multiple a buyer will pay on the entire book.
Table 2: Persistency by group size
| Group size | Relative churn | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Small (2–50) | Highest | Price-shops at renewal, higher business failure rate |
| Mid (51–199) | Moderate | More switching cost, broker-of-record stability |
| Large (200+) | Lowest | Embedded relationships, RFP cycles but loyal between |
Table 3: Why employer groups leave
| Reason | Type | Preventable? |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal premium shock, no proactive plan | Service | Largely |
| Slow or reactive service | Service | Yes |
| Only contacted at renewal | Relationship | Yes |
| Lost to a more attentive competitor | Competitive | Often |
| Group went out of business | External | No |
| Acquired / changed ownership | External | No |
Table 4: What persistency does to book value
| Retention | Book after 5 yrs | vs. 96% case |
|---|---|---|
| 96% | ~$408K | — |
| 90% | ~$295K | −$113K |
| 85% | ~$222K | −$186K |
| 80% | ~$164K | −$244K |
Read Table 4 twice. The same $500K book, left alone for five years, is worth either $408K or $164K depending only on retention. That is before a single new group is added. Persistency is not a service metric, it is the compounding base your whole agency sits on.
Make this page yours: swap your real persistency by group-size band into Table 2. Your own number is what makes this citable.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a good persistency rate for a benefits agency?
- Top-performing agencies retain about 96% of their book year over year. 90% and above is considered strong and is the threshold buyers reward. Most agencies sit between 80% and 88%.
- What is the difference between persistency and retention?
- They are used interchangeably for the share of groups or revenue that stays year over year. Gross retention measures renewals before new business is added, which is the clearest read on whether the book is actually holding.
- Why do small groups churn more than large ones?
- Small groups price-shop at renewal more readily and go out of business at higher rates. Larger groups have more switching cost and embedded relationships, so they are stickier between RFP cycles.
- How much does retention affect what my agency is worth?
- It is the largest single driver. A book above 90% is priced as a stable annuity and earns a premium multiple; below 80% it is discounted as a leaky bucket, often regardless of current revenue.
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Sources & methodology
- Retention tiers: Renegade Insurance, Retention Rate vs. Revenue: What Drives Book Value, 2026 (top performers 96%, most 80–88%).
- 90% as the buyer quality threshold: The Journal / MillyBooks, How to Value an Agency Book of Business, 2025; Exitwise, Insurance Agency Valuation, 2026.
- Churn drivers: aggregated from agency retention research; service and relationship factors dominate over price.
- Table 4 is a compounding illustration (commission × retention over 5 years), not survey data.
- Note on figures: tier benchmarks are from agency M&A sources. Group-size churn is directional. The value-decay table is arithmetic for illustration.
