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Bob Graham is executive editor at Insurance & Financial Advisor and IFAwebnews.com.

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The number of insurance industry mergers and acquisitions has jumped in the last few months, after two years of minimal activity.

Consider that in the last few weeks:

• Markel Corp. said it would acquire Aspen Holdings so it can dig into the workers’ compensation arena (price tag: $135 million).
• LPL is adding retirement planning services by buying National Retirement Partners.
• Swett & Crawford, the oldest wholesale insurance brokerage in the U.S., is merging with Cooper Gay, a London-based insurance broker.
• HM Insurance Group is acquiring the stop-loss line of Mutual of Omaha.
• Brown & Brown is buying the assets of Meridian Group of New York.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. (View all mergers and acquisitions reported on by IFAwebnews.com.)

A number of smaller mergers and acquisitions, many between cross-town rivals, also have occurred across the nation, and more are likely, as are larger deals between brokerages and between insurance companies, especially in the health insurance sector. (Small players likely to score big with health care reform are apt to get bought by big insurers looking to cash in on Medicaid money.)

All of these deals have a common theme. Everyone is jockeying for position in the ever-changing horse race that is the insurance marketplace. If someone can find the right horse and jockey, then he might have a winner on his hands.

That companies are still willing to explore a new future in the industry is good news. It shows a vibrance that was lacking for the last two years, as companies drew inward to fight the tough economy. A flourishing M&A marketplace shows that the insurance industry has new, untapped potential.