Higginbotham Teams Up with Charter Energy of Atlanta, Georgia

Risk-Management-Focused Collaboration Deepens Charter's Hands-On Model and Brings Specialty Expertise to Fort Worth Firm

Higginbotham, a broad-based, employee-owned insurance, financial and HR services firm headquartered in Texas, has joined forces with Charter Energy, an independent firm based in Atlanta, Ga., that provides specialty insurance placement and risk management strategies for a global portfolio of energy, heavy industry and private equity clients. Under the guidance of Chairman and CEO Rusty Reid, Higginbotham pursues a dual growth strategy that combines organic growth with strategic collaborations with like-minded regional and specialty firms. The collaboration with Charter adds specialty depth through expertise in priority growth industries and strengthened relationships with specialty carriers. The deciding factor, though, was a shared client-service philosophy that treats risk management as a built-in component of service, not a separate add-on.

"At Higginbotham, our commitment to risk management is formalized in our Day Two Services® — proactive risk support built into every relationship, every day," said Reid. "At Charter, that commitment has been there since the firm's founding. It shows up in a hands-on model with seasoned professionals engaging directly with clients, providing practical help on safety, contracts and claims."

"Charter started in 1986 when my dad, Pete Lunati, walked away from a big broker that wanted him to be a knife-and-fork producer — take people to dinner, don't touch the account," said Marsh Lunati, owner and principal of Charter Energy. "He wanted to truly serve his clients — to a fault, as his former employer said. He wanted to be the technical person who crafts wording and handles claims. When three clients in coal mining, oil and gas and a mill said, 'No one's returning our calls; we want to work with you,' he launched Charter to serve them directly — and became so strong on specialty risk that placing an offshore energy package seemed as normal to him as placing a homeowners policy."

Today, Charter remains focused on energy, heavy industry and construction as well as private equity, with additional capabilities in transaction liability and surety. In these complex sectors, risk exposures are significant, contract structures are unique and coverages often require access to specialty and international insurance markets. Charter meets this need by providing seasoned counsel — and goes beyond placement to provide risk advisory services, essentially taking on the risk management function for small to middle-market companies.

"I built Charter as a response to customer needs," said founder and principal Peter "Pete" Lunati. "When our clients needed risk advisory services, we built a risk advisory platform. We grow in service to our clients, never at their expense. What gave me comfort here was learning that Higginbotham shares that view — and they bring the resources to back it up. With Higginbotham, we can keep doing what we do while bringing our clients added depth in safety, loss control, legal and risk management services."

"Pete built a phenomenal brand by giving clients a direct line to advisors with the answers," Marsh Lunati added. "Higginbotham gives us the horsepower to grow that model. There's a lot of consolidation in the industry, with great people stuck in massive organizations, just like Pete was back in 1986. With Higginbotham behind us, we're going after those great people, expanding our capacity while staying direct-to-specialist for our clients."