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Fort Worth-based Higginbotham has acquired Tidwell & Hilburn Insurance of Macon, Georgia, as part of a continuing strategic growth plan in the Southeast, firm officials said.
Tidwell & Hilburn becomes the 11th Higginbotham office in the state.
“In Central Georgia, Tidwell & Hilburn isn’t just a name — it’s a trusted part of the community, built on 90 years of strong relationships,” said Higginbotham Chairman and CEO Rusty Reid in a statement. “They take care of their people, clients, and neighbors, and that’s exactly the kind of partner we look for. We’re proud to welcome them to the Higginbotham family.”
Tidwell & Hilburn Insurance traces its roots to 1920 with the founding of the Sam Chandler Agency. More than 25 years later, the Dan Tidwell Agency was formed. In 2006, the agency name was changed to Tidwell & Hilburn Insurance to reflect Rusty Hilburn joining ownership.
"We started exploring ways to perpetuate the agency," said Cole Tidwell, president of the firm. "We have two younger producers, Will Argo and Adam English, who have been with us for over a dozen years taking good care of our customers. We wanted to bring them in as minority owners, but that process was going to be challenging. As we studied various options it became clear that partnering with an established firm that already had an employee equity process in place would provide the structure that we needed."
Higginbotham, an employee-owned firm, was established in 1948 by Paul Higginbotham in the Riverside neighborhood. He ran it until his death in 1962. His nephew, Bill Stroud, took over operations at the time of his uncle’s death and bought the agency from his aunt, Edith Higginbotham, in 1969. Stroud sold it to Reid and the company’s other employees in 1989.
According to Business Insurance, the firm is the largest independent insurance, financial, and HR services firm headquartered in Texas and 20th in the nation.
“My main message is that we're not going anywhere,” Tidwell said. “The Tidwell name has been part of this agency since 1947, so joining forces with a new firm was not something we took lightly. I went through a similar process in 2006 when we added Rusty Hilburn’s name to the door. That was the best business decision I’ve ever made — and now we’re both excited to welcome Higginbotham into an even greater partnership.”