Eagan Insurance, one of New Orleans' largest brokerages, has been sold to a Texas company

Eagan Insurance, a local brokerage that has called Metairie home for seven decades, is being sold to Fort Worth-based Higginbotham Insurance, a move aimed at keeping the family-owned firm competitive in a brutal local insurance market.

The deal was finalized in early April, and the two privately held companies declined to disclose the purchase price or other terms. Higginbotham officials said that after the purchase, Eagan will continue to operate under its longtime brand from its headquarters near Causeway Boulevard, and that its 95 employees will remain in their current positions.

"Higginbotham is going to come in and let us run the agency as we have run it for the last 70 years," said President Marc Eagan, who is retiring later this year. "Higginbotham is not going to remold us. That was important to us."

The sale of one of the area's biggest independent brokerages comes amid an increasingly difficult market for commercial and individual insurance in Louisiana. Mounting losses from recent hurricanes have led to the departure of dozens of carriers from the state over the past two years, and property insurance rates have skyrocketed.

By selling to Higginbotham, one of the 20 largest brokerages in the U.S., Eagan said he and his three sons, who will continue to work at the agency, will have a greater ability to negotiate with carriers or convince more of them to write policies in the state.

"The environment for insurance companies in south Louisiana is getting tougher and our clients need more horsepower than we could offer on our own," he said.

Eagan Insurance is the second local company to sell to an out-of-state buyer in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Latter & Blum announced it had been acquired by New York-based Compass Real Estate, the largest residential real estate company in the U.S.

Deep roots

Eagan Insurance has its roots in a family funeral business founded in 1854 that, over the years, gradually began selling insurance. In 1954, Marc Eagan's father, Maurice Eagan, and four uncles established Eagan Insurance as a separate company.

In 1990, the extended Eagan clan sold the funeral home business and Maurice Eagan and his family bought the insurance agency from the others. Since then, Marc Eagan has been running the company and has grown it into one of the area's largest, with around 10,000 customers and revenues of $25 million.

Most of the firm's business is selling property and casualty insurance to commercial and individual clients.

Higginbotham also dates back to the mid-20th century, though it now dwarfs Eagan in size. In recent years, it has been aggressively expanding through the purchase of small and mid-sized agencies, growing to 2,700 employees with annual revenues of around $500 million. It operates 87 offices in 16 states, mostly in the south.

Eagan is the fourth brokerage in Louisiana that Higginbotham has bought in the past three years.

"We understand the importance of connection to community, support for clients and consideration for teammates to longevity," said Higginbotham CEO Rusty Reid in a prepared statement. "Eagan has a similar history. ... We are proud to form a relationship with the company and the people who carry that name."

Higginbotham hopes to use Eagan's relationships in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast to continue growing its regional footprint.

"They don't have a large exposure in Louisiana and Mississippi," Eagan said. "They are looking to us to help them with that."

Reducing exposure

Eagan said the family wasn't actively trying to sell the company but that he had talked to "several suitors" earlier this year and that Higginbotham made the most attractive offer and was also the best cultural fit.

He said being owned by a larger company will enable the company to offer better services to customers — particularly in risk management.

"If we can teach clients how to reduce their exposure, then they are more apt to be insured by the few companies that are writing here," he said. "If they're a better risk and we can present them in a better light to the carriers, they can get a better deal."

When Eagan retires later this year, his eldest son, Marcus Eagan, will assume the title of president.