Skip to main content
Marsh logo

Article

How portfolio programs help private equity firms simplify risk management

Private equity firms often oversee diverse and growing portfolios of companies, each with a unique risk profile and insurance needs.
Person's name and title

By Harsh S Dutia , 

Portfolio Manager, Marsh Privaty Equity M&A (PEMA)

07/25/2025 · 3 minute read

Private equity firms often oversee diverse and growing portfolios of companies, each with a unique risk profile and insurance needs. For the private equity firm, juggling dozens of individual policies and renewal timelines can, aside from being time-consuming, lead to a disjointed approach to insurance management.

Instead of leaving it to each portfolio company to manage its own insurance, some private equity firms have adopted portfolio insurance programs to consolidate management across entities. However, some private equity leaders are hesitant to implement such a program due to concerns that consolidating coverage might increase complexity, rather than simplify processes.

But when executed thoughtfully, a portfolio program often alleviates administrative burdens.

5 benefits of portfolio programs

A consolidated insurance program can lead to a number of benefits for private equity firms, including:

  • Streamlined renewals. Without a centralized program, private equity firms and their portfolio companies often juggle many insurance placements, each with its own timeline, broker relationship, and insurer negotiations. A portfolio program synchronizes these efforts, aligns renewal dates, and creates a cohesive strategy. The result is less time spent chasing policies and more spent building value. For example, a firm with 10 portfolio companies might have to coordinate 10 separate property and casualty renewals. Moving to a unified renewal schedule can not only help save time, but the private equity firm might be able to draw on the collective buying power to negotiate better terms.
  • Reduced administrative hassle. Managing insurance across multiple entities can be a logistical headache. Portfolio programs reduce that strain by centralizing coordination and using one insurance market access point of contact, often a single broker team, to support placements, documentation, and communication. This frees up bandwidth for operating partners, CFOs, and deal teams to focus on value creation.
  • Dedicated support of broker portfolio manager. One of the most overlooked benefits is the ability to appoint on the broking team a dedicated portfolio insurance manager. The manager can assist by proactively handling coordination of policies, helping you troubleshoot issues, and aiming to keep stakeholders aligned. This personal support can be a game-changer, especially for lean deal and operations teams juggling competing priorities.
  • Better data-driven decisions. Centralization helps to improve transparency. With aggregated data across the portfolio, firms can identify trends, track losses, evaluate cost drivers, and benchmark program performance. Rather than relying on anecdotal input from individual CFOs, deal teams can access portfolio-wide insights to inform decisions.For example, discovering a pattern of frequent cyber insurance claims, such as ransomware incidents or phishing-related breaches, across several companies may prompt portfolio-wide initiatives, like improved IT protocols, employee training, or investment in endpoint protection tools. By grounding decision-making on data instead of assumptions, private equity firms can better protect assets and seek to optimize spend.
  • Scalable growth support. As portfolios grow and evolve, a programmatic approach to insurance often makes it easier to scale coverage. New acquisitions can be onboarded more efficiently, reducing integration time and establishing greater consistency across coverage and compliance. Equally important, these programs offer the flexibility to adjust as existing risks evolve and new ones emerge, whether due to growth, geographic expansion, or changing insurance market conditions. During exit planning, a unified insurance structure also simplifies due diligence, making it easier to present the risk profile to prospective buyers.  

Creating value through a consolidated program

For private equity firms, managing insurance through a portfolio program is more than a cost-containment strategy, it’s a smart operational move. These programs help simplify risk management, allowing firms to focus on what really matters — growing and protecting value across the portfolio.

Our expertise

Portfolio Management | Value Creation

Our unique service model and digital tools help you reduce cost, maximize value, increase EBITDA, and focus your fund’s portfolio purchasing power.

Learn more

Related insights

Corporate business team and manager in a meeting

Article

Finding the right fit with a flexible portfolio insurance program

07/09/2025
Curved modern glass building against sky with reflections.

Report

Global transactional risk insurance claims report 2025

07/08/2025
Fiber optics background with lots of light spots

Podcast

Risk in Context Podcast: Amid changing market dynamics, PE firms focusing on risk mitigation

06/24/2025
corporate boardroom table and chairs with cityscape view professional photography

Podcast

Risk in Context Podcast: Transactional risk insurance adapting to an evolving M&A market

03/25/2025
View more