Brown & Brown EVP and Retail Head Steps Down With $2.5M Severance Pay

Brown & Brown’s executive vice president and grandson of the brokerage’s founder has resigned, marking another turning point in what may prove to be one of the most turbulent periods in the 87-year-old company’s history.

P. Barrett Brown, younger brother to CEO J. Powell Brown and head of retail operations since 2020, stepped down Aug. 10. But he will continue some work with the Daytona Beach firm through July 2027, according to a Brown & Brown filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week.

Brown will receive a severance package of $2.5 million, along with his current base salary of $1 million, the filing shows. He also will be eligible for a $1.3 million bonus “subject to the satisfactory performance of the transition services,” and a lump sum of $130,000, the company said in the Aug. 10 8K filing.

Brown & Brown, one of the largest U.S. insurance brokerages, offered no public explanation for Barrett Brown’s departure, and company officials could not be reached Wednesday morning.

But sources, including people who have worked with Brown, told Insurance Journal that Barrett seemed ill-suited to a leadership role at the company and has not been seen regularly at the offices in recent months. In light of recent upheaval and the sudden loss of more than 200 employees to rival Howden, the brokerage’s leadership may have felt it was time for a change.

Brown & Brown said in an earnings call last month that Howden’s alleged poaching was expected to cost Brown & Brown as much as $60 million this year in lost business. The brokerage in December filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against Howden, alleging unfair competition and other torts. Industry sources said Brown & Brown has faced internal discontent for years, partly due to a commission arrangement for brokers that rewards new business more than it does renewals.

And with Florida’s rejuvenated property insurance market, with some 20 new carriers in the last two years, competition for retail business has increased sharply, putting new pressure on brokers and brokerages.

Brown & Brown’s share price Wednesday morning remained at about $70, well below the five-year high seen in March of 2025, but up from a low of $57 posted in May of this year, according to the Yahoo! Finance stock tracker.

It’s unlikely that Barrett Brown, the son of company Chairman J. Hyatt Brown, will be hired by a rival brokerage, at least anytime soon. The transition filing with the SEC notes that Barrett had agreed to a one-year non-compete covenant, following his resignation.

As of this week, Barrett was not listed on the firm’s website as a member of the leadership team.

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