Fort Worth-based Higginbotham is adding Gilliam Insurance Agency of Pasadena via a merger. .
Gilliam Insurance Agency is an independent commercial property/casualty insurance broker specializing in the trucking industry and operating 14 years in Pasadena.
Higginbotham is the largest independent insurance and employee benefits broker based in Texas with more than 30 offices across the state. Mark Gilliam, principal at Gilliam Insurance Agency, was introduced to Higginbotham when his brother Bill Gilliam joined the Fort worth firm.
Higginbotham has offices in nearby Houston and Friendswood, Texas, that will partner with Gilliam Insurance Agency to bring its single source solution for insurance and financial services to area businesses. The partnership is part of Higginbotham’s growth strategy that sees it merging with other independent brokers that expand its footprint and add expertise. Gilliam Insurance Agency’s concentration in the trucking industry is mutually beneficial, according to Higginbotham officials.
“The beauty of our single source solution is that we’re making it accessible to a broad range of businesses,” said Higginbotham Chairman and CEO Rusty Reid. “We have groups of commercial insurance professionals specializing in more than 20 diverse industries. Gilliam Insurance Agency fortifies our trucking practice, and in a firm that values each other as family, this partnership was meant to be.”
Gilliam said, “I heard great things about Higginbotham from my brother, and when I talked to others who merged with the firm, I got excited about the growth potential. Now that we have the strength of a large firm behind us, we can offer more options to our clients, including employee benefits for the first time.”
Gilliam Insurance Agency and its six-person staff will move to Higginbotham’s Friendswood office, making it a team of 50 insurance professionals. The additional staff bolsters the team’s service capacity in south Houston.