Higginbotham Teams Up with Program Insurance Group, Acquires EZ CERT Franchise Certificate Tracking Service

Fort Worth Firm Gains Specialized Franchise Service While Georgetown Firm Gets Support for Clients, Team and Powerful Growth Boost

Higginbotham, the largest independent insurance, financial and HR services firm headquartered in Texas and one of the top firms in the country, announced a new association with Program Insurance Group of Georgetown, Texas — also known as the home of EZ CERT, a nationally-deployed insurance certificate tracking service for franchisors and franchisees.

Higginbotham Chairman and CEO Rusty Reid leads his firm's strategic growth initiative, forming partnerships with agencies that share Higginbotham's values of client service, team support and community investment. With Program Insurance Group, Reid has found that shared culture in a family-owned firm with a range of business, personal and nonprofit clients, as well as in-depth experience supporting homebuilders in Texas. The firm boasts a notable national reach as well, with the EZ CERT certificate tracking service for franchise owners and operators.

"When Doug Groves purchased the firm that would become Program Insurance Group in 2010, something special happened," said Reid. "He brought a family legacy of service to the needs of homebuilder clients — needs that include tracking insurance coverage across networks of contractors and subcontractors. At Program Insurance Group, he found the kernel of a similar business with even more potential: helping franchise firms track a wider array of coverages across whole portfolios of franchisees. EZ CERT, the solution built on that expertise, is now one of the most effective services in the market for certificate tracking, and we're excited to leverage it across our broader network."

Doug Groves, Program Insurance Group Principal, elaborated on the importance of certificate tracking for the franchise market, "Both homebuilding and franchising require careful attention to insurance compliance from the firm with their name on the door. But there are significant differences. In the homebuilding world, the builder pays the contractor, which makes it easy for them to insist on compliance. In the franchise world, the money flow is reversed, which makes everything more challenging. The scale is another issue. A large franchisor might need to track dozens of policies across hundreds of franchisees."

EZ CERT streamlines compliance, seeking to make the process seamless for franchisees; and to ensure that franchisors stay protected. With the hurdles removed, the large market and high volume of policies become opportunities rather than issues.

"EZ CERT is a game-changer for franchisors," continued Groves. "With Higginbotham's specialized teams and client services like loss control, we can take this program to the next level, offering even more value to clients nationwide."

Andrea Denton, Producer at Program Insurance Group and one of Doug Groves' three children active in the business, also highlighted the benefits of the relationship for their team: "We explored other opportunities, but Higginbotham stood out for its transparency and commitment to employees. Their employee ownership program ensures our staff is supported, and their training and back-office resources will help us better serve our clients."

As both firms look to the future, the partnership represents a shared commitment to innovation, customer service and team support.

"We all walked out of our first meeting with Higginbotham saying, 'This is what we are looking for,'" said Groves. "We've found a great partner in Higginbotham, for our family, our team and of course, for our clients."