Higginbotham swoops for regional firm

Latest deal is its fourth in the state in just over a year

Higginbotham swoops for regional firm

Mergers & Acquisitions

By Ryan Smith

Independent broker Higginbotham has announced that it has acquired J.M. Insurance Agency, a broker of commercial and personal property-casualty insurance, bonds and employee benefits based in Lebanon, Tenn.

The deal comes on the heels of another agency joining Higginbotham in Memphis, giving the broker a total of four offices in Tennessee in just over a year. Higginbotham entered Tennessee in 2020 when it acquired Memphis-based Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance.

“We’re a client-centric agency that’s driven by a mission to build trusting relationships,” said Beau Massengille, president of J.M. Insurance Agency. “To keep those relationships for the long term, we deliver on customer service, and we’re constantly looking for ways to provide more value. Partnering with Higginbotham gives us additional resources and services that otherwise would have taken us 10 years to attain.”

“When we joined Higginbotham, we were already the largest independent insurance broker in the state,” said Johnny Pitts, managing partner of Lipscomb & Pitts. “So our decision might have seemed surprising, but our success story of merging operations and cultures with another large firm is a great testimony for other agencies in growth mode. Higginbotham has a great platform for client growth and employee satisfaction that is taking off in Tennessee.”

Massengille has been named a managing director at Higginbotham. He will continue to oversee J.M. Insurance Agency’s existing team and Lebanon operations.

Late last year, Higginbotham bolstered its footprint in Texas with the acquisition of MGM Benefits Group.

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