Higginbotham: insurance broker profile

Overview

Higginbotham is a Fort Worth-based retail insurance broker that sells business insurance, employee benefits, personal insurance and financial services, mainly in the South, Southeast, Southwest and Midwest. Rusty Reid is president and chief executive. Business Insurance's 2026 ranking of U.S. brokers, which ranks firms on 2025 U.S. brokerage revenue, put it 16th, up from 19th the year before, with about $1.049 billion of U.S. brokerage revenue. We read that figure from a summary of the list and did not check it against the magazine's table. Business Insurance reported in April 2024 that the firm had about 3,100 employees.

Higginbotham is unusual among large brokers for its ownership. It is not owned outright by a private-equity fund. Business Insurance reported in 2024 that employees own the majority of the company, and Stone Point Capital describes its own stake as a minority position.

History

According to Wikipedia, Paul C. Higginbotham founded the agency in 1948 as a small brokerage in Fort Worth after returning from World War II service. His nephew Bill Stroud bought it in 1962, and a second office opened in Dallas in 1998. Reid joined in 1986 and became president and CEO three years later.

Stone Point's profile says the company had been an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and moved to corporate ownership in 2007. Stone Point invested in 2009 and again in 2017. Reid told Business Insurance in 2024 that growth was split about evenly between acquisitions and organic expansion "by design." Stone Point says that as of November 2025, Higginbotham had acquired and integrated more than 130 partnerships since 2009.

Services

Higginbotham places property, casualty, professional and specialty coverage for commercial clients, advises employers on group benefits and human resources, and sells personal lines. Business Insurance counted 36 specialty practices in 2024. In April 2025 the firm announced a partnership with Construction Casualty Insurance (CCI) of St. Petersburg, Florida, to fold CCI's AI-assisted CompCorrect workers' comp platform into Higginbotham's "Day Two Services," and CCI team members took a significant ownership stake. The aim, as reported, is to take CompCorrect to construction and other high-risk clients nationally.

Who it serves

The firm focuses on middle-market commercial businesses, from smaller employers to companies with complex programs, and it also serves individuals. Wikipedia lists more than 140 offices in 16 states, including Texas, California, Florida and Ohio, though counts differ by source and year. Local offices often keep a community identity. If you are weighing a regional firm against a national or direct option, independent agent, broker, captive agent or direct? and how to choose a commercial insurance broker cover the trade-offs.

How it is paid

Higginbotham is private and we did not find a compensation disclosure on its public pages. Retail brokers in general are paid through commissions from insurers, client-paid fees (common for benefits and consulting), and in many cases contingent or supplemental commissions that depend on the volume, growth or profitability of the business placed with an insurer. Employee ownership and outside investors do not change that structure. A client can ask in writing how the firm is paid on their account, including any contingent compensation, and how commercial insurance brokers get paid explains the main arrangements.

Recent deals

• CCI partnership and equity stake: announced April 30, 2025, as described above.
• Roehr Insurance: a Cincinnati agency acquired in 2025, expanding the Midwest presence (reported in trade summaries; we did not verify the closing date).
• 2026 tuck-ins: trade summaries list Turbeville Insurance Agency in South Carolina (June 2026), Blanton & Griffin, McGohan Brabender, Harmon Dennis Bradshaw and Monarch Solutions. We did not verify each deal.

Higginbotham's pattern of buying agencies in its regions is typical of the wider market; see private equity and the consolidation of insurance brokers and the largest commercial insurance brokers, ranked by 2025 revenue.

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strengths: a large regional network with local decision-making; employee ownership that the firm links to its independence; specialty practices and benefits under one roof.
• Weaknesses: private status limits public financial disclosure; the revenue and headcount figures differ between sources; acquisitions require integration of agencies and systems; its footprint is concentrated in certain regions.

What this means for a buyer: a local Higginbotham office typically acts as the main point of contact, with specialists brought in for construction, benefits or other niches. Because the company is private, a buyer who wants to know how the employee-ownership plan works, or who the outside investors are, will need to ask the firm directly. It is also reasonable to ask which insurers the office places most of its business with, whether any of them pay the firm supplemental or contingent commissions, and how benefits and property-casualty services are priced when bundled.

How to contact Higginbotham