Mat Lipscomb III – Memphis Flyer

Lipscomb & Pitts

Co-CEO’s Mat Lipscomb III and Johnny Pitts

For Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance, the largest independent insurance firm in Tennessee, the New Year is looking bright.

Earlier today, the local firm announced that it had merged operations with Fort Worth, Texas-based Higginbotham, one of the largest independent insurance firms in the U.S. It was an easy match on paper, with both firms providing full-scale commercial and personal insurance, employee benefits, human resources, retirement plans, life insurance, and executive compensation services.

Higginbotham, the 21st-largest independent insurance brokerage firm by revenue in the United States, has been pursuing strategic growth by partnering with independent insurance firms that can both complement its service model and increase scale for its operations. The partnership with Lipscomb & Pitts marks the larger firm’s first foray into the Tennessee and Southeast markets, and now gives it a presence in seven states.

Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance co-CEOs Mat Lipscomb III and Johnny Pitts are second-generation majority owners of the firm, with their fathers having started the business when becoming partners in 1954. Lipscomb III and Pitts took over in 1990, and will continue to serve as managing partners. The pair currently presides over 134 employees in Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, Jonesboro, AR, and Hattiesburg, MS, and will pursue further growth opportunities in the Southeast region.

“We were looking to expand our business even more when the opportunity to join Higginbotham presented itself,” said Lipscomb III and Pitts in a joint statement. “When we considered the additional resources we’d have through Higginbotham to serve our clients, support our employees and local communities, and add long-term stability to our firm, it was clear that this was the right match.”

“We started growing through establishing partnerships with highly compatible firms in 2008,” said Higginbotham chairman and CEO Rusty Reid, “and Lipscomb & Pitts is the largest of our 60 partners. We’re excited about the opportunity to accelerate our presence in the Southeast with such a strong firm, and one that has similar values with family, community, and customer service at its core.”

All existing Lipscomb & Pitts offices will retain and continue to operate under the Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance name.