(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 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!”
About Total Employee Benefits
Total Employee Benefits (TEB) of Atlanta, Georgia, provides white glove advocacy service through a range of medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life, disability, supplemental and worksite lines to clients and their employees. TEB negotiates group benefit programs, communicates the benefits to employees and assists with keeping employer groups compliant despite the ever-changing regulatory landscape. Boasting an impressive average of 20+ years’ experience in the industry, TEB team members place client advocacy at the forefront of all they do, resulting in a 96 percent client retention rate. Clients that work with the TEB team, stay with TEB.
TEB is a woman-owned business and is certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), a leading non-profit organization dedicated to helping women-owned businesses thrive.
Visit tebpros.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.
