Higginbotham adds Arlington insurance broker

Fort Worth-based Higginbotham and independent brokerage firm Safe Harbor Benefits Inc. of Arlington announced Nov. 26 the merger of their operations. Higginbotham provides comprehensive solutions for commercial and personal insurance and employee benefits. The firm has been expanding its footprint by partnering with other independent brokerages that add both scale and capabilities to its operations, which have grown to 20 offices and 550 employees throughout Texas. “For Higginbotham, it’s not about being the biggest. It’s about being the best,” said the firm’s President and CEO Rusty Reid in a news release. “Our combined strength means access to more insurance products and carriers, better leverage, higher capacity for customer service and added expertise. Collaborating with Safe Harbor Benefits and other firms that have joined forces helps us achieve the best for our customers.”

Safe Harbor Benefits was opened in 1996 by Bryan Keathley, a life and health insurance broker with a professional background as a petroleum geologist and commercial banker. The client-focused practice earned double digit growth year over year, enabling the purchase of a property/casualty agency in 2001. Today, Safe Harbor Benefits is a full-service firm providing group and individual medical, retirement plan advisory services, commercial and personal insurance. “The time was right to merge, but I didn’t find the perfect fit until I met the people at Higginbotham,” Keathley said. “Beyond our mutual business philosophies, we have the same passion for doing right by our clients, employees and community. It’s a genuine interest in others that drives us and produces results.” Safe Harbor Benefits will continue under Keathley’s guidance with its present name and location at the Safe Harbor Center offices it has occupied since 2007, located at 1321 W. Randol Mill Road.

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