Texas-based Higginbotham has made its first move into South Carolina, joining forces with Turbeville Insurance Agency, a Columbia-based independent brokerage with four offices across the state and more than 60 employees.
The deal gives Higginbotham a foothold in a state that has become one of the most closely watched growth markets in the country. Between July 2024 and July 2025, South Carolina's population grew at 1.5%, faster than any other state in the nation according to the US Census Bureau, with domestic migration adding nearly 80,000 residents in that period. Growth has been driven by a strong job market across manufacturing, healthcare and logistics, alongside the state's comparatively low cost of living and coastal appeal.
For Higginbotham, the timing is deliberate. The firm ranks as the 16th largest independent insurance brokerage in the US in 2026 according to The Hales Report and has operated since 1948 out of its Fort Worth, Texas headquarters. The Turbeville deal is the latest in a sustained expansion push that has seen the firm enter Indiana, Georgia and Alabama in recent months, alongside specialty acquisitions in high-net-worth insurance and energy sector risk.
The deal reflects structural forces at work across the US independent agency market. According to Business Insurance, there were 695 insurance agency M&A transactions in the US in 2025, and by some estimates more than 30,000 independent agencies generate less than $1.25 million each in annual revenue, the vast majority without viable internal succession options — a structural reality analysts say ensures continued consolidation. For mid-sized agencies like Turbeville, the choice between organic growth and joining a larger platform has become increasingly common as national competitors deepen their resources and technology investments.
Turbeville Insurance Agency was founded in 1991 by William L. "Bill" Turbeville Jr. and serves personal, commercial, life, health and employee benefits clients across offices in Columbia, Lexington, Beaufort and Charleston. The firm has particular depth in coastal property, construction, contractors, developers and restaurants — lines that align directly with South Carolina's growth-driven risk profile. South Carolina homeowners premiums climbed double digits through 2024 and 2025 after Hurricane Helene tracked through the Upstate in September 2024, with several national carriers reducing or pausing new business writing in parts of the state. That environment has put a premium on specialist independent broking capacity of the kind Turbeville has built its business around.
Rusty Reid, chairman and CEO of Higginbotham, said: "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."
For Turbeville, the decision came after years of organic expansion and new partnerships brought the agency to a scale where competing with national and regional firms required a different level of infrastructure.
Bill Turbeville said: "We'd grown to the point where the next level was going to require a different kind of scale. 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."
Higginbotham's employee ownership structure was, by Turbeville's account, a deciding factor — and one that distinguishes the firm from the PE-backed model that dominates the current consolidation landscape. According to Business Insurance, PE-hybrid buyers accounted for 73% of all US insurance agency deals in 2025. Higginbotham's model gives joining employees a stake in the value they help create within a firm structured to remain independent over the long term.
"The final decision was about that long-term structure," Turbeville said. "I'm not planning on leaving — but one day, I'll want to know that everyone on this team is being treated the way I would treat them. Employee ownership tells me this is a company built around the people doing the work."
Turbeville clients will continue working with their existing local teams while gaining access to Higginbotham's broader platform, including its Day Two Services proactive claims and risk management support, contract review, loss control and specialty market access in areas including trucking and aviation.
"Our clients aren't losing the agency they know," Turbeville said. "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."
