Fort Worth-based Insurance Brokerage Combines Efforts with Legendary Partner in Florida Expansion
(Fort Worth, Texas) – 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 Florida’s Stahl & Associates Insurance with an eye to growing the combined business in the Sunshine State.
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.
With Bob Stahl, the president and CEO of Stahl & Associates, Higginbotham has entered a collaboration with a genuine legend in the insurance industry. Bob Stahl founded Stahl & Associates in 1983 and has grown the business from one location with six employees to the largest privately held agency in Florida.
“We’re thrilled to be working with Bob, and with the whole Stahl & Associates team,” Reid said. “They have a terrific reputation, with deep ties to their community and a real culture of service to their clients. We’re particularly excited to connect our safety and loss control teams to make their People Safe Solutions™ available to Higginbotham’s clients. The behavioral science-based safety program drives down costs and helps customers build better workplaces.”
For Stahl & Associates, the relationship with Higginbotham was the clear choice. “We could have done a deal with virtually any company,” Stahl said. “But it was important to get it right. We’re the largest privately held agency in Florida, but we’re still a community-based organization, and our team is like a family. We’ve got a culture where everybody pitches in and helps each other. So, I knew I had to look out for our team as well as our clients.
“That’s why the relationship with Higginbotham was such an obvious choice,” Stahl continued. “When we learned about their values and their culture, it was a perfect fit. They’re also bringing in terrific opportunities for our team, as well as training, education, and wellness programs. And they’re employee-owned, so our employees are gaining equity in a solid, top-tier company.”
Along with the benefits for his team, Stahl looks forward to sharing the Higginbotham resources and capabilities with his clients.
“Laws and regulations are changing constantly,” Stahl explained. “With Higginbotham, we have access to a dedicated compliance team to keep us and our clients on top of everything. They have a financial analysis team for renewal workups, and a communications team. They even have a wellness team — and their director of wellness used to work for NASA.
“Since the beginning, this firm has been dedicated to our clients, their businesses and their people,” Stahl concluded. “That’s our value proposition, and I truly believe that the resources and tools that Higginbotham brings to the table will help make our clients’ businesses even stronger.”
Stahl & Associates is Higginbotham’s second alliance in Florida following the firm’s 2020 deal with the Pensacola-based McMahon & Hadder Insurance.
About Stahl & Associates
Founded in 1983 by Bob Stahl, Stahl & Associates is the largest privately held commercial insurance firm in Florida and a Top 100 broker. Now a Higginbotham partner agency, Stahl & Associates provides single source solutions for clients in a range of industries including construction, manufacturing, nonprofit/social services and health care. As a unified group of four regional offices with a powerful nationwide partner, Stahl & Associates pairs access to expanded resources and global capabilities with the personal services that have always been a hallmark of the firm, such as People Safe Solutions™, a proprietary behavioral science-based approach to safety and loss control. Visit stahlinsurance.com for more information.
About Higginbotham
Employee owned and customer inspired, Higginbotham is a single source solution for insurance, financial and HR services. The firm was established in 1948 and ranks by revenue as the nation’s 21st largest independent insurance firm. Serving thousands of businesses and individuals through locations coast-to-coast, Higginbotham’s approach to finding insurance, employee benefit and risk management solutions is more individual and less institutional. By understanding customer priorities, eliminating inefficiencies and committing to transparency, Higginbotham is a place that leads with values so value leads. Visit higginbotham.com for more information.
Watch what Stahl & Associates says about joining Higginbotham.
