Biggs Insurance Services, a three-generation, family-owned insurance company in downtown Vancouver, was sold to California-based Alliant Insurance on Wednesday.
Rich Biggs, former majority shareholder and CEO, said that the company will look and feel relatively similar after the buyout. Nearly all the staff is staying in the same building, the name Biggs Insurance will continue and Biggs, 55, will stay on as the local branch’s leader in a role as senior vice president at Alliant.
“We’re still Biggs, we’re still part of the community, we’re just enhancing our capabilities with a national platform to operate from,” he said.
Alliant, based in Newport Beach, Calif., is a privately owned company that’s about 53 percent employee owned. It has about 120 branches and operates in most states. Biggs Insurance was one of the largest locally owned, independent insurance agencies in Clark County, operating out of its office at 916 Main St. It has 54 employees.
“Biggs has a long and proven history of combining outstanding service with a broad and far-reaching portfolio of insurance products and services,” said Tom Corbett, chairman and CEO of Alliant in a Thursday news release. “This will further enhance our ability to provide clients across the Pacific Northwest with tailored solutions that address all aspects of their risk profile.”
Biggs Insurance will continue to sponsor many local events and remain deeply involved with local philanthropic causes, Biggs said.
“It’s going to allow me to do more,” he said. “It will free me up to get more involved in the nonprofits and service organizations like the Rotary Club of Vancouver. You won’t see much of a change in involvement in the community. That’s part of who we are. You’ve got to give back to the community that made you who you are.”
Rich’s father, Don Biggs, joined the Whitfield Company in 1953, acquired ownership in 1967 and changed the name to Don Biggs & Associates in 1970. He then sold the agency to his partners in 1988 and the agency became Biggs Insurance Services. Rich joined the agency in 2000 and his brother Bill joined the agency in 1990 and retired in 2018. Rich’s son Nolan Biggs, 26, also works for the company.
Will Campbell: will.campbell@columbian.com; 260-735-4507
