Brown & Brown Inc. reported a 21.5% jump in revenue for the second quarter as businesses continued to reopen and the economy strengthened, but its top executive said the speed of recovery in the second half of the year would be tempered by various factors such as the ability to hire workers and supply chain issues.

President and CEO J. Powell Brown also said disruption arising from the failed merger between rivals Aon PLC and Willis Towers Watson PLC, would create opportunities for the brokerage.

“Any time you have a transaction of that size in any industry that fails to go forward there’s going to be change in organizations. Some people may decide they want to be on different teams, some people may decide they want to go in different directions with different businesses,” Mr. Brown told analysts on an earnings call Tuesday.

“We’re always looking for good people and … talking to new prospects,” Mr. Brown said. The Daytona Beach, Florida-based brokerage has 11,000 employees.

Brown & Brown reported second-quarter revenue of $727.3 million, up 14.7% on an organic basis from the same period last year. Organic revenue, which excludes acquisitions and various other changes, increased 17.6% in its retail segment, 13.3% in national programs, 12.3% in wholesale, and 4.6% in services.

Quarterly profit increased to $139.3 million, up 43.9% over the year-earlier period.

Each of Brown & Brown’s business segments saw strong top- and bottom-line growth due to more new business, good customer retention, increased premium rates across most lines of coverage, and higher exposure units driven by continued economic expansion, Mr. Brown said.

As companies continue to reopen and strengthen, business confidence is improving, but not all businesses are back at 100%, and open roles are serving as a “governor on the speed of recovery,” he said.

Due to this uncertainty, insurance buyers remain very focused on their insurance spending, managing deductibles and aggregate limits, he said.

Rates in the second quarter were in line with the first quarter, but the brokerage has started to see moderation in the level of increases in certain admitted and nonadmitted lines, Mr. Brown said.

“Certain customers in industries with high losses remain a placement challenge,” he said. Insurers continue to seek higher rate increases on a renewal basis while quoting at or below expiring rates for new business of a similar risk profile.

Admitted market rates were up 3% to 7% across most lines. The outliers were workers compensation, where rates remained down 1% to 3%, and commercial auto rates, which were up 5% to 10%.

In excess and surplus lines most rates were up 10% to 20%, coastal property — both wind and earthquake — were up 15% to 25%, but there was less upward pressure on renewals in the last part of the quarter, Mr. Brown said.

“Professional liability for most accounts remains challenging, the SPAC market in particular,” he said. Professional liability rates generally were up 10% to more than 25%, cyber rates were up 10% to more than 20%, with increased underwriting questions and some reductions in coverage availability, he said. Excess umbrella coverage also remains difficult to place.

“For both lines we are seeing carriers reduce overall limits while seeking significant rate increases,” he said.

The brokerage made two acquisitions in the second quarter, totaling about $11 million of annual revenue. Its pipeline “remains full,” and it expects the M&A market to remain active, Mr. Brown said.

“We continue to believe the economy will improve over the coming quarters,” he said. However, the speed and trajectory of the economic recovery could be impacted by challenges in hiring workers in certain industries; supply chain issues that constrain production and affect sales; the spread and response to the Delta COVID-19 variant; and the impact of inflation.

“As a result, we expect some moderation of organic revenue growth during the back half of the year compared to what we delivered in the first half,” Mr. Brown said.