Higginbotham, an employee-owned insurance and financial services company headquartered in Texas, joins forces with Turbeville Insurance Agency, a Columbia, South Carolina-based independent brokerage with four offices across the state. The move marks Higginbotham's first presence in South Carolina, one of the fastest-growing US states, and aligns it with one of the state's largest independent firms. Turbeville was established in 1991 by William L. "Bill" Turbeville Jr. The firm has grown to more than 60 employees, with offices in Columbia, Lexington, Beaufort, and Charleston, serving personal, commercial, life, health, and employee benefits clients. It holds specialised experience in coastal property, construction, contractors, developers, restaurants, and other industries. Clients will continue working with their local teams while gaining access to Higginbotham's expanded resources, including Day Two Services, claims advocacy, contract review, loss control support, and specialty market capabilities in areas such as trucking and aviation. Rusty Reid, chairman and CEO of Higginbotham, says: "A South Carolina presence has been our goal for a long time, and we didn't want to tiptoe into it. Bill Turbeville and his team have built one of the state's most respected independent firms, and they did it by staying close to their clients, investing in their people and showing up for the communities they serve." Turbeville says the decision came down to fit and to Higginbotham's employee-ownership model, which gives staff a path to share in the value they help create. "We'd grown to the point where the next level was going to require a different kind of scale," Turbeville says. "We had to decide whether to make that major push on our own or join forces with a larger firm that could help us keep growing." He adds: "Our clients aren't losing the agency they know. They're getting the same team, with a lot more behind them. And for the team, this means more opportunity, more ownership and a future with a company that thinks about people the way we do. It just feels right."
