Insurance Business America (IBA) has released its 10th annual Top Specialist Wholesale Brokers list for 2026, recognizing 39 industry professionals who play a critical role in placing complex and hard-to-insure risks across the US excess and surplus (E&S) market.
As artificial intelligence reshapes how submissions are read, risks are scored, and capacity is matched, this year's list makes a pointed case that specialist wholesale brokers are more essential than ever – not in spite of the technology, but because of it.
The honorees have emerged as what the report calls "the sense makers": professionals who interpret AI model outputs, reconcile them with real-world market nuance, and advise clients on when to override or supplement algorithm-driven decisions.
The E&S market continues to expand. For the seventh straight year, direct written premiums saw double-digit growth for US E&S insurers, according to Fitch Ratings in its latest annual market review.
Meanwhile, AI adoption across the insurance industry has accelerated rapidly. An estimated 91% of insurers have adopted AI technologies in some form, and the AI-in-insurance market is forecast to grow from $7.7 billion in 2024 to more than $13 billion in 2026.
Yet this year's honorees demonstrate that technology has amplified, not diminished, the value of specialist wholesale brokers. As more routine risks are commoditized by algorithms and portals, the market increasingly depends on human specialists to handle the unusual, bespoke, and hard-to-place.
Among the 2026 winners, 36% have specialized in their area of risk for 21 or more years, while only 5% fall in the 1-5 year range – underscoring that deep, long-tenured expertise remains the foundation of specialist broking.
IBA compiled its list based on industry nominations, with a focus on brokers' ability to design solutions for risks that defy standard coverage. The 2026 honorees are renowned for:
IBA's Top Specialist Wholesale Brokers list is now in its 10th year. Insurance Business America invited insurance professionals from across the country to nominate exceptional specialist wholesale brokers.
Nominees were expected to possess unique insights and highly developed skill sets tailored to their particular specialty, which they use to help retail agents and their clients secure the best coverage possible.
Nominators were asked to describe their nominee's standout professional achievements over the past 12 months, along with their contributions to the financial success of clients and business partners in 2025.
To narrow down the list to the final 39 Top Specialist Wholesale Brokers, the IBA team reviewed all nominations, examining how each individual had made a meaningful contribution to the industry.
The following brokers were among those recognized for 2026:
For more details and the full list, visit IBA's Top Specialist Wholesale Brokers 2026 special report.
