Higginbotham
Rusty Reid
Officials with Higginbotham said last week that the firm had acquired Houston-based Iscential, an independent insurance agency, risk management, and financial services firm.
The acquisition will expand Higginbotham’s Houston presence, adding a second team from the Bayou City to the firm’s roster. For Iscential, the move allows access to enhanced services for its clients.
“Iscential fits perfectly into our national network of firms,” Reid said in a statement. “I could not be more pleased to bring them into the fold. They are a firm with impressive growth and an incredible reputation for client service. Our partnership with Iscential will allow both of us to better provide enhanced services to our clients for years to come.”
Dowling Hales acted as exclusive financial advisor to the sellers in the transaction.
“There were a lot of agencies to choose from,” said Iscential CEO Warren Barhorst, who founded the company 30 years ago. “But when we started taking a closer look, we realized that so many companies are driven by stock price rather than customer and employee care, and they’re not run by insurance people.
“Then we looked at Higginbotham. Not only do they have the long-term, proven performance we needed, but they also have the right culture. They’re employee-owned. They’re sales-driven and customer-focused. And best of all — they’re run by insurance people. With Higginbotham, we found a partner that values what we’ve built, values our culture and associates, and wants more than a financial transaction.”
Barhorst noted that he was particularly excited to now be able to offer Higginbotham’s wide array of services to Iscential clients: “When we looked at the Higginbotham services, there was no question — they’ve done what we were trying to do on a smaller scale, and they’ve done it right.”
Said Reid: “At Higginbotham, we’ve strategically and diligently built the in-house services for risk management, benefit plan administration, HR services, and more, and we’re looking forward to offering these solutions to Iscential clients.”
“Despite the obvious benefits, the decision to team up with Higginbotham was surprisingly emotional,” Barhorst said. “Higginbotham kept telling us it'll be business as usual, and they were right. Except they’re enabling me to refocus on the parts of the business I love most. If you're a baker and you like to bake, you want to make cookies. You don't want to sit at your desk alone doing paperwork. Today, I got to make the insurance version of cookies: I got to be back with clients all day long.”