Higginbotham, the largest independent insurance, financial and HR services firm headquartered in Texas and one of the top firms in the country, has joined forces with Total Employee Benefits (TEB) of Atlanta, Georgia, after a courtship period revealed the two firms’ shared commitment to client advocacy and crisis support.

As Higginbotham celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, Chairman and CEO Rusty Reid looks to the future with a program of strategic growth, bringing on board agencies and teams that enjoy sterling reputations in their local markets and share the same energy, culture, values, and commitment to service as Higginbotham.

“We’re proud of our property and casualty practice in Atlanta,” said Reid, “but we really wanted to step up the employee benefits side. With TEB, we couldn’t have found a better, more experienced, and more like-minded ally for achieving that goal. 

“TEB Practice Leader Rachael A. Collier has been in this space since 1992. She was named top female insurance advisor by the Atlanta Business Chronicle for the last two years and was named top broker in Georgia this year. She has run a practice, she knows the benefits space inside and out, and she knows the region. But best of all, she and the whole TEB team share our commitment to client advocacy.”

“At TEB, client advocacy is our number one value proposition,” Collier agreed. “We recognize that health care is always personal. So along with handling benefits brokerage, administration, enrollment, employee onboarding, and ongoing compliance, we know that we’re supporting clients and their employees through times of real, personal crisis.

“In the modern health care system, any diagnosis becomes a cluster of red tape. People feel lost and don't know who to turn to. That’s when the TEB team steps up. We will meet with our clients’ employees wherever they are, even in the hospital — and we’ll meet with hospital admins to get whatever employees need.”

Collier said that she was initially drawn to the collaboration with Higginbotham by the obvious synergies and resources the deal would enable TEB to offer their clients, such as Higginbotham’s top-notch population health management and wellness services. But it was a shared appreciation of personal connection and commitment to support in times of crisis that drove the agreement home.

Collier explained, “The first time I spoke with a Higginbotham benefit advisor, he said they like to do business with people they want to have Thanksgiving dinner with. That spoke volumes to me — because it's personal. Shortly after that, we faced a crisis of our own during a C-suite shakeup with one of our bigger clients.

“All we had with Higginbotham at the time was a letter of intent. But they immediately offered full support and flew in two of their executives for the client meeting. They didn't ask questions. They didn't suggest a quid pro quo or demand a signature in advance. They just stepped up.

“Higginbotham showed true partnership even before we decided to join their firm,” Collier concluded. “To me, that means they are in this business for the right reasons: to help their customers and their partners and to build a strong personal foundation for their team. We are looking forward to a long-standing relationship with Higginbotham and to growing the Higginbotham brand and family in the Atlanta area — and beyond!”